Waiting On God

Maybe you have been walking with God and growing in the Lord and you are doing great, you are experiencing for the first time in a long time (or maybe ever) the freedom of not only a newly created life in Christ but the freedom from addiction you have longed for—but now you are waiting for the next steps in your walk with Him. Maybe God has shown you some of the new path you will walk down but the door has not yet been opened, you are waiting on God’s timing and direction.

Sometimes we are waiting on God and something new to happen in our life and it can be a real test to go through especially (as I sometimes say) if you are new to the family of God. We have to learn to trust Him and seek Him and His word during times of waiting. The waiting has purpose.

When you think you know the direction you should be moving in and you haven’t yet been told by God to move you must remember that God has an absolute perfect plan. He isn’t putting us through trials and tests because He likes to see us suffer and He isn’t making us wait simply to see if we can—I mean, of course, if He wants us to wait, wait is what we will do, but there is a perfect and spiritual reason for the waiting process and it isn’t just to develop our patience, it is also to put His plan for us into motion at the right time involving the right people and places. Our plans don’t ever just involve us; they involve the plans of others too.

     

It can be difficult to trust God and sometimes waiting can feel or seem like you are doing “nothing”, but during those times you can seek God and pray and ask Him for His divine guidance. His word tells us in Proverbs 4:2 (NLT), “For I am giving you good guidance. Don’t turn away from my instructions.” Thank God for His wonderful living word (Hebrews 4:12) which gives us the answers we so desperately need while we journey from this strange land to our home in heaven. Remember that “…Our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ” Philippians 3:20 (NKJV). His word also tells us in James 1:3-4 (NKJV), “…The testing of your faith produces patience, but let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.” Patience, if we let it, will do a “perfect work” in us and that makes the waiting worth it.

“But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV).

Pursue patience (1Timothy 6:11) and know that God hasn’t put you aside or become too busy with someone else and left you to wonder what you should do next. Once again it comes down to knowing just how wide and how deep His love for us actually is and then we can know that He isn’t leaving us to be the God of another.  For our God is omnipotent which means He can save, help, love, guide and correct all of us at the same time and never once lose sight of or heart for any of us. This intense measure of God’s love is described in the following verses from Ephesians 3:18-19 (NIV), “May (you) have power, together with all the Lord’s holy people, to grasp how wide and long and high and deep is the love of Christ, and to know this love that surpasses knowledge—that you may be filled to the measure of all the fullness of God.” If this love surpasses knowledge (which is acquired and known in our intellect and our minds) but we can be full with it, then it can only be known spiritually.

 This is what you do while waiting on God—you embrace and soak up His great love and get to know Him.

      Getting to know Him is to understand His nature and it is not to make us suffer, wait, or endure hardship for an unknown or unnecessary reason. Yes, the reason might be unknown to us but I assure you the purpose is not unnecessary. Some people really do have a distorted view of God and why we go through the things we do. It is one of the many things I have been set free from and I finally met my God, the God who would rather love me than watch me suffer— I once believed it was the other way around. Sometimes it takes us realizing that what we might feel is suffering is not necessarily considered suffering in God’s eyes. We have to remember that He knows our big picture, our end result, our finished faith. Trust Him.  

      If we can imagine God sitting on His throne demanding everything go His way just because He is God and He said so—then we can just as easily imagine Him working lovingly on our behalf to make sure all of the pieces to our newly created life in Him fit together just as He planned for them to and just as His word tells us. I know for some this may be hard and because we come from dysfunctional families (all are, to some degree) we can have a hard time seeing God as the loving Father that He is, but let’s imagine and believe that God is the loving and caring Father that He is and know that everything He does He planned before we were ever created and He not only knows what to do, when to do it but He knows what is best for us. It literally tells us this in 2 Timothy 1:9 (NLT), “For God saved us and called us to live a holy life. He did this, not because we deserved it, but because that was His plan from before the beginning of time—to show us His grace through Christ Jesus.”

 Isn’t that what we are in this for, to live out God’s great plan for our lives? After all, when we pursued our own plans we fell prey to addiction/sin and the bondage that goes with it, our plans don’t work for our good they work to destroy us. Take God at His word, and He tells us in Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV), “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If the One and Only Living God has plans to give us a future with His prosperity and hope then let’s be patient enough to wait on Him to put these wonderful plans into motion for our benefit and not our harm.

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Why Me, Lord?

 

    

     How many times have you asked Him that question? Was it a single question or a string of them rolled into one? What I mean is, were you asking Him why you had to suffer the things you have in life or were you asking Him why you didn’t get or don’t have the things you think you want in life? Were you asking Him because you wanted to receive something from Him or because you wanted Him to take something away from you?

     We seem to always be asking for something and sometimes when we get or receive what we think we wanted we realize as soon as we receive it that we didn’t really want it after all. Why is that I wonder? Is it because when we were in the asking mode we were not seeking the will and the plan of God?

     If we knew all that God had planned for us in His great tapestry of things and if we could see just a little bit of what God has in store for us we might not ever ask for anything again unless God was telling us directly to ask Him. He does tell us to ask in His Son’s name and we will receive (John 16:23), but what God means is that we ask according to His will and purpose (1 John 5:14). Knowing His will and purpose requires that we have a close and intimate relationship with Him.

     When we pursue a close and intimate relationship with Jesus we begin to see and realize that the things we used to think we wanted from the Lord aren’t even legitimate requests or wants because we now see that what we should be asking for are the things which will bring what He wants for our lives.

     This new life in Christ is going to bring new desires and wants, but sometimes it takes us a little while to realize that and at first we may still, even if just emotionally, think we want the things of the past. We might think now that we have healed and been set free that we can handle or have certain things in our life that we couldn’t before and that might cause us to ask the whys—why can’t I do it or have it now, Lord? I am stronger and I can handle it now.

      If we’re not careful we can start to lose track of what God has brought us out of and we can even forget (unimaginable, but true), how bad our life was before we surrendered it to Him and let Him deliver us from the bondage of addiction and all the yuck and consequences that come from living that kind of life. How do I know? Sadly I know from personal experience and it is not something I am proud of, but as I always say there is no waste with God so He will use even our backsliding away from Him for His glory and to teach us a lesson. What is the lesson? We cannot do life on our own and we especially cannot do this newly created life on our own, and as soon as we try we will fall!    

     Let’s begin to ask God what should my desires be and how should I pursue them? What are Your wants, goals and desires for me, Lord? These are the questions which God will answer in His great and glorious way and when we get those answers we need to grab onto them, pursue them just as tenaciously as we did our addictions and that lifestyle and watch God change us from the inside out.

    

     We may be going along and doing very well in our walk with God and this new life He has given us, but if we don’t seek Him and what He wants for us we can get tripped up and deceived (yes, deceived) into thinking we don’t need God anymore or at least not as much as we did at first. We might think I don’t use drugs or alcohol anymore; I don’t look at pornography or engage in lewdness or fornication anymore so why do I still need so much of God in my life?  Maybe I only need Him on Sunday mornings when I go to church or maybe I only need Him when I am in a serious crisis—but not all the time. After all I am better now and I don’t do the things I once did. This is a very dangerous mind and heart-set to get into and it is one I guarantee will lead you right back to a life of destruction if you aren’t careful and recognize it when it comes and get your heart and your mind back where they need to be.

     The world has a different answer than God and His kingdom and it is one that says you must be independent and self-reliant and you must learn to handle everything on your own, that way you can escape the pain of others hurting you (or so we think), and you don’t have to answer to anyone except yourself. But there is nothing in God’s word, ways or kingdom that ever tells us we are to do anything on our own, in fact, God doesn’t like it when we ignore Him and try to do things on our own. He considers that seeking something before Him and it is a form of idolatry and or worshiping or relying on someone or something more than we do Him.

     Our whys to God need to be more in the tone of, why did you save a wretch like me? And why do I get to know the healing power of Jesus Christ while others are still bound in their addiction? Or why are You so merciful and good to me God? And why was I chosen to be used by God Almighty in this special way? And then resolve in our hearts and minds that we don’t deserve any of it, but we are grateful to Him that He has done it for us and brought us to where we are in our life.

     I have said this before, but it bears repeating, you cannot maintain your freedom from addiction and your new life in Christ without Him being the center and the Lord of every area of your life! The whys are a manifestation of our heart condition and our closeness to God. If we are asking why we haven’t reached a new level or season in Him and it is His will that we do, He will answer our whys, but if our whys are asking something like—woe is me, why am I always suffering or not getting what I want in life then He might not answer except to show you that those are not the things or whys He is concerned with answering.

     We may be asking why we have to face the trials and struggles we are facing right now in our life, but everything we go through has a godly purpose and reason and we don’t always need to know the why. Sometimes we just need to know that NOTHING we go through is ever in vain—even if it is a mistake or misstep He will use it for His glory so we should keep our hearts and our minds focused on Him and His whys and wants for us.

     God’s whys are so different from ours—they are as such, why don’t you trust Me with every area of your life, and why don’t you seek only Me for your answers? And why do you think I have left you without answers to your questions? Or why do you think your questions are more important than mine?

     Maybe one way we can begin to change the questions we ask God is to understand and remember that we are now living this new life in Him and He wants only the best for us and He never means us harm. Jeremiah 29:11 (NIV) tells us “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.” If we really take hold of that scripture and live everyday like we believe it and it is the key to our future, I believe we can stop asking our whys and start asking what. What is our part in His great plans to prosper and not harm us, His great plans to give us the future we didn’t have before we let Him deliver us and set us free?  

     The answer to our question, “Why me, Lord?” can be answered this way—Jesus says to each of us no matter what the actual or underlying question is, “You ask, ‘why me, Lord?’, and I answer you—because I love you, I gave My life for you, I have great plans for you and I know what is best for you—that’s why.”

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His Ways Are Not Our Ways...Hallelujah!

     God’s ways are not our ways, but now that we are new creations in Him we are learning His ways and we are learning to follow His ways because we now know they are best for us and we now trust our life, our sobriety and our freedom from addiction to Him. 

     We cannot maintain our freedom from addictions without Jesus as the center of our new life. We need all the help we can get from Him and there is unlimited help, we just need to tap into it every day all day long.

     I read or heard once from Joyce Meyer Ministries that even a godly thought directed toward God is considered prayer in the heart of God—I just love that and I firmly believe it. God already knows our hearts inside and out, and He even knows our heart better than we do, so if we are directing our thoughts and desires toward Him and His kingdom we will be in constant communication or communion with Him. If we are in communion with Him we can have the constant help we need to stay free from the things that will harm us and keep us from our Savior. 

     Remember, you are not just working on sobriety; you are building your testimony. I consider it your story of how you and God came to be and the path you are now taking once He turned you to the “light” direction.  God is an amazing God who uses us in ways that we may never even know or understand.  You are now a child of God and He has plans for you and it is to use what you have gone through so don’t lose hope when you are feeling like your life has no purpose. Your life now has God Almighty’s Purpose, and He is just preparing you for what is to come and you want to be ready as He brings this new purpose into your life.  

     When He says His ways are not our ways He means it (Isaiah 55: 8-9), but He isn’t some sort of unapproachable God who tells us His ways are different and higher and His thoughts are different and higher. He tells us this so that we don’t try to trust our own ways as they are futile when it comes to His ways. Besides, haven’t we proven that, by trusting our own ways to the point of our own demise?

      He does tell us that we can reason or talk with Him and Him with us, “Come now, and let us reason together,” says the Lord, “Though your sins are like scarlet, they shall be as white as snow…” Isaiah1:18 (NKJV). God wants us to know that we can go to Him about anything and everything in our life, and He wants us to know we can trust Him with everything.

     Let’s talk about trust as it relates to the past and now your new life in Christ. 

      When you lived in the mire of addiction you kept trusting in and counting on your so called “friends”, but addicts don’t have friends they have addiction companions—because misery loves company—and that’s it! There is no such thing as trust in that world and anyone who has lived in it knows that I’m speaking truth.

      BUT GOD, came into your life and now you can really know what it is to embrace trust for once in your life. You can trust the one who is a friend like you’ve never had before. He tells us in Proverbs 18:24 both the NKJV and the NIV version are impactful and relevant to what we’re talking about: NKJV, “A man who has friends must himself be friendly, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.” And in the NIV, “One who has unreliable friends soon comes to ruin, but there is a friend who sticks closer than a brother.”  His word even says in Micah 7:5 (NIV), “Do not trust a neighbor; put no confidence in a friend. Even with the woman who lies in your embrace guard the words of your lips.”  He is not the kind of friend who says “I will be there, I promise”, but then they are nowhere to be found when you really need them! No, He never leaves or forsakes us and He doesn’t just say it, He means it!

     God is not “out to get us” as some would think and He deals with us in kindness and compassion—even if we don’t think He is being kind and loving, He knows what is coming in our life, so we need to trust Him. 

     I used to think that God was not very patient and of course not very compassionate either, but His word tells us otherwise and now that I am pursuing an intimate relationship with Him I know His word and His ways enough to know that God is kind and very compassionate and loves to deal with us in that way.

     “…Because His compassions fail not…they are new every morning...” and, “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”  And there are more supporting scriptures—some of them can be found in: Lamentations 3: 22, 23, 25, 32, and 33 (NKJV).

      We can trust Jesus as our true friend and God the Father as our loving Father, not like some father’s in the world who might have been absent, abusive and or neglectful.

     God the Father wants us to know that He loves us and because of that love He will correct and chasten us, just as any loving father would. He is The- Father- of- all- father’s and He never means us harm, and He can only correct us toward what is good and right for us. Our Father in heaven can never lead us wrong or astray and He will never inflict undue or unnecessary pain or harm on us, He just won’t, it is NOT His nature.

     Remember we talked before about not licking our wounds and not catering to our pain, but instead let God cater to it. Let’s look at some of the ways He does this—first of all we have the privilege of casting all our care upon Him, His word tells us this in 1 Peter 5:7 and Psalm 55:22, God wants us to cast our cares upon Him and let Him bring about the answers to the situations we face each day. This includes giving us strength when we need it to overcome temptation and stand strong in this new freedom from addiction.

      He cares for us in our hurting and pain, it matters so much to Him that His word tells us that He not only hears and answers our prayers, but our prayers are saved up in heaven, “…the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders…each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people”, Revelation 5:8 (NIV). God also saves the tears we cry, “You number my wanderings; put my tears into Your bottle; are they not in Your book?” Psalm 56:8 (NKJV).  In Psalm 4:8, He keeps us safe when we sleep at night and He gives us His peace.

      When we speak of His peace there is nothing to compare it to—by that I mean it isn’t earthly so nothing on earth can compare to it.  But He does tell us this about His peace, John 14:27 New Life Version says this, (“Jesus Gives His Followers Peace”) “Peace I leave with you. My peace I give to you. I do not give peace to you as the world gives...”  He even suffered physical pain for our peace as it tells us in Isaiah 53:5. Also, in Philippians 4:7 Paul tells us that God’s peace surpasses all understanding, and all through His word He is referred to as the God of Peace!

      This is not the kind of peace that we have ever experienced before and we should cherish it as such. Hold on to His peace and never let it go. Let His peace keep you and strengthen you during tempting times, during trying times, during those times when you know you will make it, but those around you aren’t quite convinced yet and because of that you are feeling discouraged.

     With the peace of God our Father and His own peace Jesus gave us, we are completely equipped and prepared to journey with Jesus down this path of no more addictions. We are now in pursuit of His plan for our life and that is a completely new path, it has twists and turns that we are not used to. But we can get used to it and that’s what this new journey is all about—learning His ways. Don’t give up, soon enough those who weren’t quite convinced that you are a new creation will be completely and thoroughly in awe of what our Great God has done in you and they are going to want it too!  So keep going because there is joy to come and a harvest to reap and a brand new life to live—and Jesus is the closest, stick it out when things get tough friend, you have ever had or ever will have.

     Trust and follow His ways and they will take you down the path that leads to Him and His eternal purpose and the place that is being prepared for you in heaven.

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