His Purpose for Waiting

Rev. Selwyn Hughes state that God answers our prayers in four different ways. 'Yes', 'No', 'I will give you something better' and 'Wait and see what I will do'... The reverend says that among these answers, the fourth one is the most difficult as admitted by many of God's children because of waiting. And waiting simply by trusting that God will do something with regard to our prayer is difficult for many of us. One may wonder why God wants us to wait. It is because we will never mature unless we learn it the Lord's way.

If God were to answer all our prayers immediately, we will grow to become spiritual cry babies (when we do not get what we want) comments Rev. Selwyn Hughes. So God wants us to wait, trust His decisions and choices for us and receive answers that is good for us...

Isaiah 30:18 (New American Standard Bible)

Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you,

And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you

For the LORD is a God of justice;

How blessed are all those who long for Him.

Dealing it Right

Disappointments and discouragements are part of Christian life. Once we feel that we are all heading up the road, sometimes there may be halts, some sliding that make us wonder what has happened. We may be thinking that all is set and things are moving fine, only to meet up with a halt or slide.

However, we need to understand that God does not guarantee us a path of success throughout. Whatever be our life circumstance God wants us to look at life through His eyes for there is something to learn which cannot be learnt otherwise. Unless we learn this lesson we will be tossed and hurled like waves of the sea.

That is what exactly the Psalmist learnt from his life lesson, because of which he said:

Psalm 27:13 (New American Standard Bible)

I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD

In the land of the living.

If the Psalmist had let loose his feelings, then he would have allowed his disappointments be turned to despair. But he did not do so. His feelings were dealt rightly with right kind of thinking and perspective because of which he saved himself from despair...