Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;
wait, I say, on the Lord!
Psalm 27:14
When God asks you to wait, what happens to your spiritual muscles?
While you wait do your spiritual muscles grow bigger and stronger or do they grow flaccid and atrophied?
Waiting for the Lord isn't about God forgetting you, forsaking you, or being unfaithful to His promises. It's actually God giving you time to consider His glory and to grow stronger in faith. Remember, waiting isn't just about what you're hoping for at the end of the wait, but also about what you'll become as you wait.
So, waiting always presents us with a spiritual choice or point if you will. Are we going to question God's goodness and progressively grow weaker in faith, or will we embrace the opportunity of faith that God is giving us and build our spiritual muscles?
It's so easy to revisit your belief system when you're not sure what God is doing. It's so easy to give way to doubt when you're being called to wait. It's so easy to forsake good habits and to take up habits that manifest unfaithfulness and doubt that weaken the muscles of the heart.
Let's look at a few habits that breed unfaithfulness or doubt while waiting, that tends to increase weakness rather than of building strength:
1. Giving way to doubt– There's a fine line between the struggle to wait and giving way to doubt. When you're called to wait you're being called to do something that wasn't part of your plan, and therefore something that you struggle to see as good. Because you're convinced that what you wanted was right and good, it doesn't seem loving that you're being asked to wait. You can see how tempting it is then to begin to consider questioning of God's wisdom, goodness, and love.
2. Giving way to anger– It's very easy to look around and begin to think that the bad guys are being blessed and the good guys are getting hammered (See Psalm 73). There'll be times when it simply doesn't seem right that you have to wait for something that seems so obviously good to you. It'll feel that you're being wronged, and when it does, it seems right to be angry. Because of this, it's important to understand that the anger you feel in these moments is more than anger with the people or circumstances that are the visible cause for your waiting. No, your anger is actually anger with the One who's in control of those people and those circumstances. You're actually giving way to thinking that you've been wronged by God—which is far from the truth.
3. Giving way to discouragement– This is where you begin to let your heart run away with the "If only" the "What if," and the "What will happen if." This kind of meditation makes you feel as if your life is out of control. Rather than your heart being filled with joy, your heart gets flooded with worry and dread. Don't allow free mental time to result in discouragement.
4. Giving way to envy– When you are waiting, it's very tempting to look over the fence and wish for the life of someone who doesn't appear to have been called to wait. It's very easy to take on an "I wish I was that guy..." way of living. You can't give way to envy without questioning God's wisdom and His love. Here's the logic; if God really loves you as much as He loves that other guy, you would have what the other guys has. Envy is about feeling forgotten and forsaken, coupled with a craving to have what the other guy enjoys.
5. Giving way to inactivity– The result of giving way to all of these things is inactivity.
Sadly, this is the course that many people take as they wait. Rather than continue to actively grow in faith, they allow doubt, anger, discouragement, and envy destroy their motivation for spiritual exercise, and the muscles of faith that were once robust and strong, are now atrophied and weak.
The reality of waiting is that it's an expression of God's goodness.
God's timing is always right and His focus isn't so much on what you'll experience and enjoy, but on what you'll become in the process of waiting. He's committed to using every tool at His disposal to rescue you from you and to shape you into the likeness of His Son—Jesus Christ.
The fact is that waiting is one of His primary shaping tools.
So, how do you build your spiritual muscles during the wait?
Well, you must commit yourself to resist those habits of unfaithfulness and doubt and with discipline pursue a rigorous routine of spiritual exercise.
What's the equipment in God's gym of faith?
Here are the things that He's designed for you that will build the muscles of your heart and strengthen your resolve:
- Regular study of His Word and being in prayer
- Putting yourself under excellent preaching and teaching of Scripture
- Investing your quiet mental time in meditating on the goodness of God (for example, as you are going off to sleep)
- Consistent godly fellowship
All of these things will result in spiritual strength and vitality.
Is God asking you to wait?
What's happening to your muscles?
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