While You’re Waiting, God Is Working

CURRENT TEACHING SERIES The Keys to a Blessed Life

While You’re Waiting, God Is Working By Rick Warren — Oct 11, 2015 “I trust the LORD God to save me, and I will wait for him to answer my prayer.” (Micah 7:7 CEV) The Bible is clear that there are seasons in life, and one of the seasons that God talks about again and again is the season of waiting. While you’re waiting, God is working. Don’t think that the season of waiting means that God has stopped working. He’s just taking you through that season because he’s using the time to work in your circumstances for your good. You’re going to spend a lot of life waiting. If you don’t figure out how to trust God while you’re waiting, you’re going to spend a lot of your life not trusting God. God is never in a hurry. He’s eternal! He is watching; he is working. He is seeing how and when you will trust him as you’re waiting. You’re saying, “When, Lord? When is it going to happen?” And God’s saying, “You can trust me with this.” The problem with waiting is that our human nature and our culture say, “Don’t wait! Get things as quickly as you can.” That’s the way our culture is wired, but it goes against God’s blessing in our lives because God’s blessing comes through these times of waiting. Ecclesiastes 3:11 says, “[God] has set the right time for everything” (TEV). You might be in a time of waiting. Maybe it’s for school to end. Maybe it’s for a man or a woman to come into your life. Maybe it’s for a marriage to happen or a baby to come. And you may be frustrated with how slowly things are happening. We’ve all been there. There’s a promise in the Bible that tells you not only that God is working but also how God is working, and you need to claim it while you’re in your time of waiting: “I am the LORD, and when it is time, I will make these things happen quickly” (Isaiah 60:22 NCV). That’s how God worked when he sent Jesus into this world. The world waited thousands of years for Jesus to come the first time. And he came at just the right time. We’ve been waiting 2,000 years now for Jesus to come again. When is he going to come again? At just the right time — God’s time. That’s when he’s going to come. You need to apply this to your time of waiting and remember that a delay is not a denial. When you think God is saying “No,” he may just be saying, “Not yet. Will you keep trusting me through this?” Micah 7:7 says, “I trust the LORD God to save me, and I will wait for him to answer my prayer” (CEV). That is the kind of faith that God blesses. PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >> Talk It Over What have you been waiting on God to do in your life? What has been your response to the season of waiting? How have you seen God work in your life when you have had to trust in his timing and not your own? What can you do to slow things down in your life so that you learn patience and trust?   CURRENT RADIO SERIES The Beginning of the End   CURRENT TV SERIES All Things New: The Revelation   But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.  --Joshua 24:15 If you are a parent who wants to pass your faith on to the next generation, I have some advice for you—KEEP IT REAL! If you and I are going to instill a strong, unshakable faith in our children, we must be transparent, authentic, and real. Exercising your faith at home must be part of your everyday life! Now you certainly don’t have to dress up for it or put a face on for it. Real faith works in a suit or in blue jeans. Make faith a normal, comfortable part of your everyday life and your children will see faith in action. I love today’s verse when Joshua said, “But as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.” He took the lead and made the decision that his household would live for God. You can make the same decision for your family today! If your heart and soul longs to know Christ, real faith will permeate your life as a parent, whether you are worshipping or working, praying or playing, going to church or fishing. When you rise and when you go to bed at night, be real! Make God’s Word part of your daily walk. Talk the truth, model the truth, and live the truth. According to Proverbs 22:6, “Train up a child in the way he should go; even when he is old he will not depart from it.” Training your child in the ways of the Lord is a 24/7 job, but you can do it with God’s help. MAKE FAITH A NORMAL, COMFORTABLE PART OF YOUR EVERYDAY LIFE AND YOUR CHILDREN WILL SEE FAITH IN ACTION.