While I Wait

 Have you heard of Joseph? He's the one who interpreted dreams and was sold into slavery by his brothers before he became Pharaoh's right hand man, but before all that he had a dream of his own. He spent 13 years as a slave and prisoner before he ever saw his dreams come true though. 

It could have been really easy for Joseph to be angry, bitter and upset with God, but he never was. In fact he always had a good attitude and although he was waiting on his promises he allowed God to use him countless times. Genesis 37-41 

He waited 13 years to see his promises fulfilled.

How many years have you been waiting? 

How has your attitude to been about waiting?

What have you been doing while waiting?

When I was 12 I felt called to ministry.

For the past 11 years I've been trying to fulfill that calling, but failed.
I was hurt, led astray and fought so hard to prove myself too many times.

But yet this dream that I once had was becoming less of a reality.  

It could have been really easy for me to be angry, bitter and upset with God. 

And honestly at times I have been all three of those things. 

I'm 23. I've attended Bible School, gotten married and followed after Christ in everything...

yet still waiting for God's promises. 

Some of you have been waiting for months, or years for God's promises. 

You've questioned God, you've questioned God's existence, you've even questioned yourself 

and it's easy to allow bitterness to crawl in and destroy what God has planned. 

How you react in this time in your life will make or break you.

Have you ever played sports?

Many times when playing sports you will spend time on the bench.

And although it can be really easy to be upset while there,

there are things you can learn while there as well. 

You have to work a lot harder than the player that's starting.

This means instead of complaining  on the way home from church, you're having a prayer service in your car. It means cleaning the church or driving the bus. It means studying the word and letting it shape who are. It means giving a little extra in everything. When you allow God to use you in spite of your set back you will be blessed. 

You learn how to be mentally tough.

In this time of waiting you will overcome trials and tribulations and in those times you will become strong. You will learn to pray and trust in God like you never have before and in the end you will be better person and christian for it. 

You learn how to be the best support system for your team.

While waiting you will see brothers and sisters in Christ getting blessed and getting their promises and this is when the bitterness creeps in, but the bible says to love thy neighbor and to not covet what they have, but rather rejoice with them.  Be happy for them when God blesses them, If you can't be happy during their moment of blessing then how can God bless you?

You learn how to be patient.

Patience is a virtue. I know so cliche, right? But seriously wait your turn. Waiting is okay. In this day in age it is so hard to slow down. Everything is fast pace. You can get food in minutes, find information in seconds, or go see a friend that lives 30 miles away in just a few minutes drive. But we don't live on our time we live on God's time. He knows whats best for us and the sooner we realize that the sooner we will be content in waiting. 

You will get your opportunity to play and you will have nothing to lose.

The day will come when your blessing or promise will be fulfilled and when the day comes you will have learned so much on this journey that you will be able to not only enjoy it more, but you will appreciate it more as well. You will have nothing to lose and everything to gain. What a glorious day that will be. 

You learn to enjoy the time you’re there.

This period of waiting isn't all bad. You will learn a lot and grow a lot and one day will look back and be okay that you had to wait because in your waiting you gained a testimony and God got the glory. 

You are still a vital member of the team.

Remember that just because you are not yet a minister or not yet healed, financially blessed or what ever it is God has promised you, it doesn't mean that you are not important. Cleaning the church is just as important as singing a solo Sunday morning. My pastor said it best last Sunday. You may be troubled, but you are not distressed. You may be perplexed, but you are not destroyed. You may feel trapped, but this is not the end of your story. It is only the beginning. Give your life to the Author of life and see what all He has planned. You will see it is much better then what you have planned. 

I end with this...

One Sunday morning at a small southern church, the new pastor called on one of his older deacons to lead in the opening prayer. The deacon stood up, bowed his head and said,"Lord, I hate buttermilk."
The pastor opened one eye and wondered where this was going. The deacon continued, "Lord, I hate lard." Now the pastor was totally perplexed. The deacon continued, "Lord, I ain't too crazy about plain flour. But after you mix 'em all together and bake 'em in a hot oven, I just love biscuits."
"Lord help us to realize when life gets hard, when things come up that we don't like, whenever we don't understand what You are doing, that we need to wait and see what You are making. After you get through mixing and baking, it'll probably be something even better than biscuits. Amen.
Romans 8:28
~And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.