CHOOSE TO LIVE EXPECTANTLY

“Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.” – Psalm 5:3.

The ability to wait is a thing of the past. We expect to get what we want at an ever-increasing speed. Fast food is not fast enough anymore. Our internet speeds are a blur compared to just a few years ago. We communicate with people all over the world instantly. We simply don’t like waiting.

Psalm 5:3 talks about waiting. We talk to God at the beginning of every day. We talk with God about our agenda, our plan, our worry, our heartbreak, and our joy; we present it all to Him and then we wait. God could answer us so fast we would not get the request out before the answer arrives, but that is not typically the case. What we fail to understand is that waiting on God is not a bad thing. There is growth in the waiting and many times, special gifts or blessings are given in the midst of the wait, blessings that if God would have answered as quickly as we would have liked, we might have missed. We become stronger and more confident in God because of our wait.

What we see in David’s prayer life is that he eagerly watched for God to answer. It’s as if he was “sitting on the edge of his seat” just waiting and watching for what God would do. We too need to wait expectantly on the Lord as we look forward to His answers to our prayers.

Some of the greatest figures in the Bible — Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David — had to wait for many years for God’s promises. Everything that happened in the meantime was used to prepare them, inwardly as well as outwardly. Then, when they reached their promise, they were blessed beyond measure.

The good news is He has heard each and every prayer and He is working in our life in ways you can’t always see. Trust Him as you wait. God is moving and His timing is perfect even when we feel it is not. Wait expectantly on His answer. This “waiting on the Lord’” is not a “sitting around, twiddling your thumbs” kind of waiting, fearing an unfavorable outcome. This is a waiting that has action behind it. That action is the exercise of faith in eager anticipation.

God invites us to trust in His goodness today and His faithfulness tomorrow. Relinquishing control over to Him is the main route to experiencing His love and peace. It unites our hearts with His. It creates a level of maturity and character that we will take with us into the future, and it enables us to enjoy His future blessings all the more.

In other words, when you are waiting on the Lord are you doing it with faith, knowing God will act on your behalf, whether that results in what you want or not?

Discussion Questions:

1. Have you ever experienced a long season of waiting?
2. Given what you know about God’s character, what do you think He wants to show you during this period of waiting?