The Breakthrough Moment with Rev. Bernese Shaw (9/21) - "LORD, HOW LONG?"

Luke 11:10 For everyone who asks receives, and everyone who searches finds, and for everyone who knocks, the door will be opened. NRSV

During our Wednesday Morning Prayer Conference, we have prayed many times for different ones to find a job, to be healed and for transition of loved ones as they journey to the arms of the Lord; each time the emphasis was wait on God. But as time moves on, sometimes anxious will raise it’s ugly head and cause us to ask the question, Lord how long before I will find a job with all the bills that I have, Lord how long before my house goes into foreclosure, how long must I keep from being healed and how long must my loved one have to wait before you take him or her home to be with you. So the old saying just wait on the LORD is the advice you have probably heard so much that it has become a cliché. I believe there are no coincidences when it comes to God’s timing. We may not know exactly what He is doing at the time (and we may never know), but He knows at all times. So, in order to grow as believers, you and I must learn to wait on the Lord and stand on His promises. Isaiah 40:31 but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. When we surrender to His timing, God does mighty things in and for us, according to His will and His timing. God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. In other words, we must allow His timing and not on our own agenda to guide our lives. Psalms 25:3 tells us those who obey Him ultimately won’t suffer shame [Do not let those who wait for you be put to shame]. And, Psalm 37:34 tells us Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way as a result of surrendering to His timing in faith and when we do, we can expect His very best.

I know when you are down to your last dime, you feel that you need to be able to pay your bills is very hard, but waiting for the Lord teaches us to rely on Him. If every prayer were answered immediately, we might never learn to trust God. Waiting for the Lord prepares us to have an impact on others because when you wait on God’s timing, you can be an awesome testimony of the Lord’s faithfulness. Waiting on the Lord requires patience which is simply the will to wait resting in the Lord. When we wait on the Lord you and I must listen for instructions from the Lord instead of rushing ahead with our solution or agenda. Waiting requires that we calmly accept the Lord’s work in our lives. Some of us may have to surrender what seems like an immediate need and resist the temptation to set our own timeline. Waiting on Him is purposeful anticipation that God will accomplish what He promises. So the answer to the question this morning "Lord how long?" is in God’s timing not ours. The scripture this morning tells us if we stay on our knees and what we ask for if it is the Lord’s will, it will be given in God’s timing because He has His hand on you and me so just keep praying because He will provide. Waiting on the Lord is a choice we make because when we walk away from Him, we forfeit the Lord’s best that may even result in disaster. In other words, we can allow disappointment to destroy our fellowship with the Father. So Lord how long not long but in God’s timing. If you put your troubles and burdens in the Lord’s hands there will be peace in the midst of storm because you know that God will provide. God will sustain, God will protect and God will be your stronghold when you feel that there is nothing else there to hold you up. Lord how long, not long just wait for the Lord and he will provide. Amen.