In today’s society, everything is instant: instant meals, instant drinks and instant mail. Everything is faster now than it was even ten years ago. Waiting has become a foreign concept to us Americans. Waiting a whole ten seconds for an Internet page to load is irritating, and heaven forbid we have to wait a full minute for the stop light to turn green. Waiting for God’s blessing – Mr. Right, the right job, the right house – is always hard.
As a woman who is perpetually waiting, I know how tough it is; however, I still believe that God will come through. In the book, Lady in Waiting, (which I might take a second to shamelessly and highly recommend) there is a chapter that explores the topic of being a lady of diligence. That particular chapter delves into the life of Ruth.
Ruth was an amazing woman and definitely the kind of woman worth studying. She never took the time from her situation to feel sorry for herself, even though she had plenty to be sad about. She lost her husband, left her people and went into a foreign land with her mother-in-law. But, instead of being upset or trying to do her own thing, she worked diligently obeying God’s will until He sent her a blessing.
We learn from Ruth that sometimes our place in life is to diligently wait for our next cue from God. However, we can’t confuse waiting with stagnating. We need to realize that obedience sometimes means riding the “stationary bike.” We pedal and pedal every night; and even though we don’t move forward, there is progress and change.
Our muscles get stronger and the numbers on our scales go down. All the while we are preparing our bodies and minds for a wonderful blessing: a new dress size or crossing the finish line of a marathon. Sometimes God is having us wait so we will be prepared for the next big step in our lives. Faithfully waiting on God can be one of the most daunting but most rewarding steps of obedience we can take.
Memory Verse:
“Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
– Isaiah 30:18 (NIV)
Prayer Prompt:
“Lord, renew me daily as I wait diligently for Your next instruction. Help me to run the race You require of me and not get tired. Show me how to obediently wait on You, specifically in the areas of…”
Contributing Writer:
Kristen Ruggles
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