Waiting for the Lord’s timing.

 

Christians are infamous for their intolerance with God’s timing. They want to have perfect answers to instant prayers, immediately. They often blame God for having to wait. They time and again loose interest and focus when there is no wind driving their faith ships or when stormy weather interferes with their plans and desires.

 

Our Lord Jesus Christ, on the other hand, spent a lot of time waiting on his Father when he was serving his Father as the perfect Man – God the Son. who became one of us, to redeem us.

He often went into retreat to find answers, strength, and patience. To be able to do this, Jesus made certain that he had time to pray. There are four important words about this in Matthew 14:22: "Jesus dismissed the crowd."

This was not just any crowd. This was about 10,000 people who had heard Jesus teach, had seen him heal the sick and had watched him produce enough food miraculously to feed them all. This was a crowd ready to make him a king. But Jesus dismissed them! Why? We read in verse 23: "After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray."

 

Jesus said no to a buzzing, excited crowd, an excellent opportunity, to say yes to an even better opportunity. It was a deliberate choice to honour his priorities. Jesus' first responsibility and main concern was not to satisfy his scores of excited fans, but to wait faithfully on his heavenly Father until “his hour has come”, as he often said.

 

On another occasion Jesus said, "Blessed are the meek." This word "meek." used in the Bible is the same word used to describe a wild stallion that has been trained for the saddle. This word refers to power under control, strength with direction, ready to get going, yet being disciplined, focussed – and waiting. This saying probably says something like: “Blessed are the focused, those who know their priorities and humbly honour them and wait upon God for the wind to turn and the timing to be perfect.”

 

Jesus most of the time served the crowd diligently. But he did dismiss them when he had to do something of greater importance – like having fellowship time with his heavenly Father, while waiting on God’s divine timing.

Will we, despite waiting long, when God’s time comes, still be focussed, calm, strong and determined enough to accomplish his will?

Are we patiently disciplined and remain solid when it comes to waiting upon the Lord?

Father, Thy will be done… Amen.