While I was up in the woods this past week, part of my wandering around in the forest, I was met by what I call “wait a minute vines.” Those vines, so full of stickers that they just cling on to you and don’t let you pass. I was thinking of those crazy bushes and was wondering why God planted them. They seem to be so useless and the cause of a lot of frustration when trying to navigate the woods. But because I think everything is there to teach us, I look to the Lord for answers, and He tells me “Wait!” there seems to be much in Scripture that reminds us to WAIT. Maybe that’s my lesson for now. To learn to wait on the Lord. That’s something that I thought I was pretty good at, but there are many times that I get frustrated waiting. Perhaps you do too! We wait for the results of that test, and we become anxious; we wait for the notice whether we got the job or not, and we get anxious; we wait for the slow one in our family to get ready, and we get anxious. But the “wait a minute vines”, they don’t care how long you have to wait. It seems their only job is to keep you from going forward. Isaiah 30:18 says, “Therefore the Lord is waiting to show you mercy, and is rising up to show you compassion for the Lord is a just God. All who wait patiently for Him are happy.” Come to think about it, when I am patient in waiting, I am at peace, but there is something in me that is not patient, and I want things to happen in my time. But God doesn’t work on our time, but desires us to work in His time. Boy, that’s a lesson in patience! So I turn to Exodus 14:14 and read: “The Lord will fight for you; you must be quiet.” How many times have I tried to fight little wars by trudging forward ready to settle the score, when instead I should be quiet. In my heart, I know that the Lord will fight for me, and I am to wait on Him. Romans 8:25 tells us: “But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.” I want to be one that waits on the Lord, to remain patient when everything in me wants to scream for action, for movement. Why is it so hard to wait? Why do I pull at the “wait a minute vines” in my life wanting to be free so I can continue my mission, when indeed I should be waiting for the Lord to move, instead of me to move. I have this hope, and I know this hope, yet there seems to only be so many hours in a day, and there is so much to accomplish. And the Lord tells me to wait patiently on Him. So I’m praying for patience once again. I’m praying for the ability to wait for His leading instead of trying so often to get out in front of Him. So I will do like the Psalmist: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and courageous. Wait for the Lord.” Ps.27:18 So if you are like me and struggle with patience, let’s take it a little slower today, and let the Lord be the leader. We just might find a little more peace and contentment. Pastor Andy
Barnabas Man 