ASKing is easy...waiting is not

This thought just hit me while I was taking a shower...of a truth, ASKing is easy, at least easier than waiting to receive, find or have the door opened to you. As we draw closer to the end of the year, I look back to the different things I either worried about and/or wished for...and there are some I prayed about/for and I'm still waiting for the answers.

While pondering on this thought, I had a quick flashback to when I was praying for a husband...I wanted to get married really early and felt (and expected) God will make it happen. Well, I then had to wait...longer than some of my peers and at the same time not as long as some other peers. As God will have it, since He makes all things beautiful in His time, I was found - by the best man ever...yes he is! Let's get back to the subject...

The point here is that in order to truly win over worry i.e. worry about nothing and pray about everything, we need to "contend" with waiting and be contented while waiting. It's a definite part of life - look at your life: at one time or the other, you have waited (or are waiting) for something - a job, a new job, a husband/wife (just in case men read this blog), a car, a new car, a new outfit, a child, another child, a new home...the list is endless just as our needs are and our needs are as different & unique as we are.

I just feel we should encourage ourselves in the Lord with His Word - now is a good time as any. What verse comes to your mind when you hear the phrase "wait on the Lord"? For me, Isaiah 40:31 (which we'll discuss separately) comes to mind. There are a lot of other scriptures on that subject so I've chosen a few...

Psalms 27:14: Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.*

Psalm 37:7:  Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.*

Psalm 37: 34: Wait for and expect the Lord and keep and heed His way, and He will exalt you to inherit the land; [in the end] when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.*

Psalm 62:5: My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.*

We can rest assured that He will answer us...he answered David

Psalm 40:1: I WAITED patiently and expectantly for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.*

Personally, I'm further encouraged by Psalm 145: 14 - 20:
The Lord upholds all those [of His own] who are falling and raises up all those who are bowed down. The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season. You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor. The Lord is [rigidly] righteous in all His ways and gracious and merciful in all His works. The Lord is near to all who call upon Him, to all who call upon Him sincerely and in truth. He will fulfill the desires of those who reverently and worshipfully fear Him; He also will hear their cry and will save them. The Lord preserves all those who love Him, but all the wicked will He destroy.*

Did you know that God also waits? I have good news for you...He does:
Isaiah 30:18: And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!*

Indeed He is our UPS - Upholder, Preserver & Sustainer. I don't know about you...I sure needed this encouragement to "hold on"...and look forward to the New Year. Like they say: "when the outlook is bleak, the uplook is bright" (paraphrased). As you hold on, hold this close too...For from of old no one has heard nor perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen a God besides You, Who works and shows Himself active on behalf of him who [earnestly] waits for Him. (Isaiah 64:4)*

*Verses taken from Amplified Bible