The Wilderness Wait
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“Where is God?” I cried in
discouragement. “When is He going to answer?” I’ve confessed my
sins, clothed myself in the armor, and prayed my prayers, but
God remains silent. Where do I go from here? Ephesians 6:13
tells me “to stand.” When I’ve done everything that God has
asked me to do, I am to wait. The hardest part of every trial is the waiting. I feel abandoned. I feel insecure. I doubt. I get angry. What is this wilderness time all about? Is Satan the obstacle? It is me? Is God still there? Although God seems silent, His Word reassures me that He has not left me. “Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you” (Heb. 13:5). I believe in the promises that He has given me through His Word, and I know that the desires of my heart are within the purposes of His will. Even so, I don’t feel God’s presence, and I definitely don’t see Him presently working in my circumstances. Waiting is a patient perseverance through these often misunderstood times. It involves a confident expectation of the Lord’s intervention -- knowing I will see my deepest hopes become a reality. It is not allowing those doubts to defeat my stand as the answers linger and my mind gets weary. My faith is the fuel to persevere through the waiting. Faith -- complete trust and confidence in God. The object of my faith is not the promises, but the Lord, Himself – The Promiser. “Being fully persuaded that God has power to do what he has promised” (Rom. 4:21). By spending time in God’s Word, I get to know Him, and I can secure the confidence needed to withstand these silent times. My faith believes God for who He is, what His Word says, and what He has promised for my future more than believing the outlook of my present circumstances. I tend to see my worldly circumstances as truth; however, I am told to “live by faith and not by sight” (2 Cor. 5:7). So many times I fail to look beyond my circumstances to God, the controller of my circumstances. “According to your faith be it done unto you” (Matt. 9:29). Faith is the key that unlocks the Kingdom’s blessings. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb. 11:1). How can I have faith in God without trusting Him completely? The longer I wait for my answers, the harder it is to continue trusting. Eventually, I get an idea to do something to hurry things up. Like Abraham and Sarah (Gen. 16:2), I want to rush in and help God out. I start to question God’s instructions to me. God is faithful (Heb. 10:23). His Word is Truth. Without faith in the true Deliverer, without confidence in His desire for good in my life and His ability to do as He has said, I am left with doubts. |
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Unfortunately, His timing and His
ways are different than mine. “’For my thoughts are not your
thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,’ declares the Lord”
(Is. 55:8). I often have expectations of how I think God will,
or should, answer my prayers. However, God rarely works through
my expectations, and I end up limiting what God wants to do for
me. This waiting tests my faith. One Peter 1:6-7 talks about momentary sufferings. “These have come so that your faith – of greater worth than gold, which perishes even though refined by  fire – may be proved genuine and may
result in praise, glory and honor when Jesus Christ is
revealed.” My faith is not tested for God’s benefit since He
already knows my heart. But the testing comes for my own gains.
For my faith is like a muscle that continues to be strengthened
as it is used. “The testing of your faith develops perseverance.
Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and
complete, not lacking anything” (James 1:3-4).As I wait, I rest in God’s loving arms. It is not an idle rest from my daily life, but it is an inner rest of knowing that my circumstances are being cared for, and my prayers have been heard. It is an intermission from warfare, a quenching of the doubts, a stillness of my soul that only comes from God, Himself. “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest” (Matt. 11:28). As I rest, I am filled with His peace. Peace: the tranquility of the soul, a quiet mind, a calm spirit, serenity. Peace is rare in my fast-paced world. But His peace can be found in this wilderness wait through Christ Jesus, my Intercessor. Peace allows me to hear God clearly, and it is His peace within me that shines the Light of Jesus to others. “You keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you” (Is. 26:3). Waiting does not get easier over time. However, when I see my waiting through God’s perspective – for the benefit of my growth – and when I can fully trust in God’s faithfulness, I can rest and allow His peace to flow within me. Although waiting tests my faith to the utmost limits, how I wait is a testimony of what I truly believe and who I say God is. ©2000 Caryn Burdine |
