I think about when my daughter sent out her applications for college she was
going to go to a university and so it was the end of her senior year she began
to send out applications to see where she would go to school I remember they
said it was going to take a few months to get those applications back and see
which school she was accepted in but you know those months just seemed to take
even longer it seemed like it was taking forever to get a response back from the
school and she was anticipating what school she would go to all of her
friends were going through the same process they were waiting for their
answers and it's kind of funny because as they were waiting it was as if they
had more questions in their heart and mind they were like well what if I get
accepted to this school who will I live with well if I get accepted to that
school where will I live you see they were anticipating all this and it was
just formulating more doubt and more questions in their mind about this
situation you see they were waiting and it was making them weary have you ever
waited and been frustrated how like my daughter she couldn't make plans until
she got this answer you see it happens to all of us we all go through this
waiting process it's no fun it can be difficult it can be challenging and it
can be hard but can I tell you God is not making us wait to make it hard on us
he's causing us to develop in our character and in our strength you see we
all have patience we need to acquire patience is a strength patience is what
brings forth God's promises the word says it's through patient endurance that
we bring forth the promises of God you see my daughter was accepted to a
college she was really happy about it but then
she started waiting to see what sorority she would get in
she was waiting to see what kind of friends she would meet she's gonna be
waiting to graduate she'll be waiting to see what job she gets who she marries
waiting to have a baby you see life is a process of waiting she's 18 years old
she's got a lot of waiting to do so the earlier that we learn this process the
happier we're going to be you see I wonder sometimes if those girls even
enjoyed the last semester of high school because they were so concerned worried
and frustrated about what was gonna happen in the future you know it's
interesting God always puts us at the right place even if it's not the place
we think we should be God always works it out for us
you see we're gonna be waiting most of the time so we need to learn to wait
well Isaiah 40:31 says wait on the Lord and He will renew your strength
see we're never gonna wait well unless we wait in the strength of God sometimes
we make the mistake of thinking waiting is passive we're standing in the corner
with our hands folded just waiting for the right thing to happen waiting for us
to get this great break waiting for our career to start but see God doesn't
think that we should sit around and wait we should be actively waiting we should
be pursuing God not just waiting to see what happens but preparing ourselves in
the way you know I've heard it said like this that patience is a muscle that can
only be developed in the weight you see we've got to wait well to develop
patience we all want patience we all want to be strengthened the writer of
James says it like this see the farmer he waits patiently for his crops to come
up many goes on to tell us how he waits it says he waits with cheerful endurance
with expectation he's waiting looking for the signs the rain he's out
there watching his soil believing it's rich you see he doesn't go out there and
say I know I planted seed in the ground I wonder if it's still there have you
ever thought like let me dig it up and make sure it's still down there I don't
see anything happening yet you see that's easy we all feel like
that but he stayed excited about his crop even when he didn't see anything
happening because he knew it was just a matter of time that the earth would
bring forth his harvest if he kept his endurance and his strength and his
patience we should all wait with that attitude shouldn't we we would enjoy
life more you know we don't need to feel the struggle when we wait we need to
develop our patience knowing that at the right time God is gonna get us to where
we need to be we need to start enjoying our life right now not looking so far
into the future that we forget what's happening right now I was in the
elevator with my daughter not long ago and we were going up to like the 25th
floor in this high-rise building and the elevators stopped doors opened and a man
walks in and we're just standing there and he looks at me and I smiled at him
and he looks at me and I said hi he was gonna say something to me and he stopped
for a second and I could see him thinking and he said I can't believe
you're standing in this elevator I can't believe I'm seeing you right now he said
I was talking to a friend of mine the other day and he said I was talking
about how I've been waiting for something for a long time and I need God
to help me I need him to increase my patience so I
can bring forth what I feel like he's called me to do and he said you know I
love the ministry I get encouraged from the ministry and he said because I
see you today he said I believe it's a sign
thanks God is telling me it's gonna happen hang on don't give up it's just a
matter of time you know what that man was doing he was doing the same thing
that the farmer does he was looking for a sign he was looking for the rain it
was saying I need this cheerful hopeful endurance God give me a sign
give me the next thing to give me to my next place strengthen me I'm waiting on
you so that you'll renew my strength you see when we're strong we can endure
guy says I want you to run and not get weary I don't want you to faint I want
you to be strong with this virtue called patience see we don't need to birth
anything before it's time we've got to be ready for what God has in store for
us and if we're gonna bring forth the promises of God we're gonna have to
develop patience patience isn't a bad thing patience is a strength it's a good
thing Jesus told 500 disciples wait here in Jerusalem because the Holy Spirit is
gonna come upon you you said don't leave wait right here do you know that only a
hundred and fifty disciples out of the five hundred didn't get impatient and
leave the rest left it was only a hundred and twenty out of the five
hundred that's stuck around you see sometimes I think when it takes a long
time we get bored we lose our enthusiasm we forget what we're waiting for
we quit expecting you see that day the ones who stay got renewed recharged and
reenter jaded energized by the Holy Spirit the Holy Spirit came in and
suddenly did exactly what Jesus said the Holy Spirit was going to do Habakkuk the
Prophet so God I had this vision you told me to write it down you told me
to hold it close but it's taken a long time because yo God said to him he said
throw it Jerry wait for it well God tell me when wait for it me and sometimes you
know have you ever thought of that word waiting you all you can see is long
lines lots of traffic you're sitting in the doctor's office with everybody
sitting there waiting but why do you stay in that chair because you know the
nurse is gonna come out she's gonna call your name she's gonna call your name
that's what keeps you in that chair let me tell you something god it's gonna
call your name it's for an appointed time wait for it see you know what our
job is our job is to get ready for the appointed time because we don't want to
birth anything before it's time I don't want to take it into our own hands
I think about Moses and how he led the Israelites they were well equipped when
they came out of Egypt strong headed to the promised land listen he opened the
Red Sea they saw amazing miracles they walked through on dry ground so
incredible even though they may have been fearful they look back and they
watched the sea swallow up their enemies you see God did amazing things he said
I'm taking you to that place called the promised land stick with me
keep the promise and don't give up well as they were in the desert Moses said
hey I'll be back I'm going to see God I'm gonna give our instructions for the
next half of our journey so he went up to Mount Sinai and spoke with God but
you know what the Israelites did in the camp they lost sight of the promise of
God they lost sight of where they were going and what God was capable of doing
you know what they said they said we don't know if Moses he's even gonna come
back he's taking so long they were so impatient you know what
they did they took the gold that God had given them that he had
supplied for them and they threw it in the fire and they said we're gonna make
our own God we're gonna celebrate and worship that God they thought that God
was gonna make him happy he didn't he didn't make them happy at all in fact
you know what they did they fell short of the best plan God had for their life
we need to be prepared there's a point of time what are you doing to get to
that appointed time you see it's how we wait that's important to God how we wait
can oftentimes leta how long we wait see the waiting is what God is interested in
he's interested in what we're gonna develop within us as we wait in fact I
believe he's more interested in our development than what we're waiting on
because see God's got amazing things in your future hey if he's brought you this
far he's gonna take you all the way he's parted red seas for you you've seen him
do miracles he you're well fed and we'll clothed you've got everything you need
don't jump ahead of God know if he's brought you this far he's gonna take you
all the way enjoy where you are right now begin to learn to wait well knowing
that this patient endurance that your birthday is gonna bring forward every
promise he's given you amen amen thanks for watching this message I hope
you enjoyed it we upload new videos every week to keep you inspired and
encouraged so don't forget to hit the like button and make sure you subscribe
to our Channel let us know in the comments below how this message is
encouraged - we would love to hear from you we're praying for you and your
family we'll see you next time