What to do while waiting…

If a man dies, shall he live again? all the days of my appointed time will I wait, till my change come. Job 14:14

 In 1 Samuel 13, the Bible described how King Saul of Israel and his son Jonathan conquered the garrison of the Philistines in Geba. This triumph emboldened Saul to call out the army of Israel to once and for all unite to defeat the entire nation of the Philistines.

When the Philistines heard this, they gathered in their thousands to confront Saul and his army. I guess Saul underestimated the strength and fire-power of the Philistines Army who numbered over thirty thousand strong soldiers. When Saul saw the number of Philistine’s that gathered to fight, he panicked and proceeded to perform the sacred sacrifice reserved only for Prophet Samuel, who had delayed his appearance at the battlefront for certain reasons.

When Samuel finally arrived at the scene, saw that Saul had taken over his duty. Swiftly, he pronounced judgments that eventually cut short the lives and reign of Saul as king over Israel.

God controls time.

Impatience is a robber of destiny.  An Impatient individual is a dangerous life. Why would you hurry to a place of slaughter on the ground of impatience?What belongs to you will always come to you, because God controls time.

An impatient man or woman is a bad partner in any venture or partnership, be it business, marriage or ministry. If only Saul had waited for a couple of hours more, he wouldn’t have lost his life, kingship and his great son, Jonathan.

A few years ago, God spoke to my wife and I about starting a ministry in Gordon’s Bay, South Africa. We prepared, prayed and wrote to our friends to pray and support us in this new ministry.

When the time came for us to move, we applied for accommodation in Gordon’s bay. But, estate agents rejected our applications because we are missionaries and do not have payslip. Not wanting to look like a loser in front of the people who already heard about our plans, we pushed hard and tried everything humanly possible. We got people to cosign for us. We even opted to stay in a room apartment with other families in Gordon’s bay. Unfortunately, all our efforts failed miserably.

We were really disappointed as we already packed our things. People in our organisation in Worcester already prayed us out. The embarrassment and shame were too much to bear. But in the midst of all these, God spoke to my heart: “did I call you or did you call yourself?” I had to repent because indeed, I believe God spoke to us in 2012 about pioneering a base, I just was not sure of God’s timeline. I have set my own timeline for December 2019.

God controls time! Ecclesiastes 3:11 says: “God makes all things beautiful IT’S TIME” (emphasis mine). God’s word is always true! Delays do not translate into denials with Him. Psalm 139 is very clear about how we function in relation to God. We cannot hide our thoughts from him. He knows us better than we think. He will make all things beautiful in the time he set out for us.

What do I do while waiting…

Pray- prayer is one of the secrets to overcoming anxiety and impatience. A prayerful man is a confident man. Prayer can help you overcome the temptation of jumping or moving ahead of your time. Can you imagine how many lives have been lost to impatience? Many marriages have ended in divorce on the ground of impatience.

Many people, due to the inability to wait a little longer have entered into a marriage full of pain and bondage. Many of the struggles we encounter today are results of the inability to wait on the Lord in prayer before taking major steps that impact our very existence. Don’t rush into marriage. Don’t rush out of your country in search of greener pasture without praying. You may not be able to rush back. Take your time with God. Seek his face. he created you, he knows what is best for your life.

Seek counsel- A wise man will never rush into things without seeking guidance, especially from people with vital experience regarding his or her situation. While waiting for your next level, let the Holy Spirit direct you to the right person that will give you counsel. You will find it valuable in the end. While Shireen and I were trusting the Lord to settle in Gordon’s Bay, God laid it on our heart to speak to a man of God who had been in the city for a long time. This man gave us valuable information we need to succeed in the city. Even though we are not in there yet, we are very confident we will make an impact as soon as we settle.

To be continued…