Do you enjoy waiting? Probably not if your honest! My least favorite places to go–the doctor’s office, and DMV usually involve a long wait. Might there be a purpose in God having us wait? Do you think that it is possible that God has a purpose and plan in our times of waiting on Him? Join me as I consider how God worked in the lives of numerous faithful servants found in the book of Genesis.
This particular article is written to introduce you to the central truths and central Bible passage to this series of blog(s). In order to facilitate a concise reading, I will break this series down for you into sections (upcoming posts) each with a video overview/discussion.
Video below:
Central Bible Passage and Application Points
Hebrews 11:13-16
Setting: the author is discussing the men and women of faith who pleased God
He gives us insight into why Abraham, Sarah, and Jacob endured and proved faithful to God.
13All these died in faith, without receiving the promises, but having seen and welcomed them from a distance, and having confessed that they were strangers and exiles on the earth. 14For those who say such things make it clear that they are seeking a country of their own. 15And indeed if they had been thinking of that country which they left, they would have had opportunity to return. 16But as it is, they desire a better country, that is, a heavenly one. Therefore God is not ashamed to be called their God; for He has prepared a city for them.
Applications
- They lived and trusted God having “seen and welcomed” God’s (seemingly distant) promises even though they hadn’t received them fully. God’s purposes are bigger than our lives.
- The Journey of Faith requires that we seek a “better country” with God. For us, this is Christ’s Kingdom and the fulfillment of all of history. We are strangers on this Earth–this life/existence is only a temporary home! God has something exceedingly better for those who walk in faith!
- God desires that we want something better than this material/earthly world around us! Namely, we are to desire Him more than all else! I discuss this in detail in previous blog post
4 Truths from Larry Crabb’s Waiting for Heaven
The following quotes are found in Freedom from The Incurable Addiction to Self: Waiting for Heaven pages 5 and 9.
Quote 1
“But Christianity offers a Jesus-like peace that supports us in living and loving well even when life is disappointing and heartbreaking. Jesus-like peace doesn’t suffocate the pain, it releases purpose through pain.”
There is a purpose in our struggles and difficulties. We can find peace in Christ as we wait on Him to fulfill the purpose(s). Thankfully, we have a Perfect High Priest in Christ who understands human life and temptations.
Quote 2
“For a Christian, existence is a journey through a God-delighting life, a meaningful and joyful if imperfect and difficult journey that is moving on a straight path to the ending joy everyone longs to fully experience.”
Take heart weary pilgrim! While the road may seem long, the end and the joy will make it all worth the striving and waiting!
Quote 3
“Waiting on God’s timetable, frustrating though it may be, will free us to live a good life now marked by increasingly consistent self-denying other-centeredness and always deepening appreciation of forgiveness, no longer so caught up in providing for our own good feelings, for ecstatic but shallow temporary pleasure.”
Waiting on God teaches us discipline. Waiting reminds us to look up to God and around others to encourage instead of only seeking our own temporary pleasure/comfort.
Quote 4
“Waiting Christians will more quickly recognize temptation for what it is, an opportunity to arrange for oneself an experience that God promises to provide later. And waiting Christians will discover new strength to resist the allure of such opportunities. Christians who learn to wait will live a better life now and will die a better death when heaven’s gates swing open.”
Larry Crabb practically defines temptation for us here: as when we want something that God has for us but on our own time and means accomplished through arrangements.
Future blog and video posts will focus on biblical examples of men who waiting on God primarily in Genesis. Thankfully, God’s Word gives us insight into the journey of waiting!
For God’s Glory and the encouragement of fellow believers in Christ,
Lee Stanfill
Words of Grace, Truth, and Hope 