Waiting. For many of us it’s a great challenge. We live in a fast-food, fast-paced, high-speed Internet society. We’ve come to expect immediate information and gratification. Yet the ways and will of God are often worked out in our lives through times of waiting. This can be a challenge. We set out to obey and follow God, but often give up and take matters into our own hands. We may even doubt God’s love and goodness in our waiting.

Our spiritual heritage is full of men and women who waited to receive God’s promises. Joseph spent many years in slavery and prison before rising to his God-foretold place of rulership. Abraham and Sarah waited twenty-five years before receiving the promised son. Chosen as a boy, David waited many years before becoming King of Israel. God commends them to us as an example:

“We do not want you to become lazy, but imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (Hebrews 6:12).

Our patience is evidence that we believe and trust God. Faith is “…being sure of what we hope for, certain of what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1).

While God could act in an instant, delays come because He has something to teach us through the waiting. He wants us to learn how to stand firm on His promises. As we come to Him, He solidifies and strengthens our faith. Like King David, we can practice the discipline of soul talk. This is using the Word of God, specifically His promises, to remind and persuade your heart and mind of God’s sovereign and loving timing. Recorded in Psalms 42 and 43, David repeated this phrase three times:

“Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise Him, my Savior and my God.”

As you wait on God, consider speaking the following promise to your soul:

“Those who wait for the Lord — who expect, look for and hope in Him — shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they shall walk and not be faint.”

Isaiah 40:31

Prime real estate anywhere in the world is determined by location. Property and rental values within a city are generally more expensive because of their proximity to business and government centers. Thus, many prefer to sacrifice larger living spaces for the benefits of location. Wise investors always evaluate the potential of future dividends.

Living without obedient faith in God’s Word is like making an unwise investment choice. Hebrews 11:6 states: “And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to Him, must believe that He exists and that He rewards those who earnestly seek Him.” The word “without” means to be outside of something, like living outside the safe perimeters of a city. We subject ourselves to the dangerous consequences of sin when we choose to live independently from God. Yet many Christ-followers choose to live in unbelief, outside the boundaries of faith that God has deemed to be most valuable for life and godliness.

David lived in the prime real estate land of faith long before he dwelt in a king’s palace. As a young shepherd, he faithfully relied on the strength of God to help him defend his sheep from the jaws of lions and the claws of bears. Faith activated the power of God to help him defeat the lies and taunting threats of the fearsome giant, Goliath.

What fearsome giants are you facing? Is it time to relocate and live within the exclusive real estate boundaries of faith? Come to Jesus and learn from Him. He will graciously move you from the cheap land of lie based-beliefs. Dwelling in unbelief exacts a high price: a perpetual state of sin and fear. Be rewarded with the rich dividends of living by faith in Christ’s words. Holy conduct and peace will be yours as you cling to God’s truth.

“I sought (inquired of) the Lord, and required Him (of necessity, and on the authority of His Word), and He heard me and delivered me from all my fears. They looked to Him, and were radiant; their faces shall never blush for shame or be confused. This poor man cried, and the Lord heard him and saved him out of all his troubles.”

Psalm 34:4-6

Fred Astaire and Ginger Rogers are the most popular dance duo ever to grace the big screen. Starring in ten movies together, they danced in perfect unison, moving as if one person. Yet what appeared as effortless was the product of many hours of training and practice. Dance partners must learn to work together. To flow in a synchronized or complementary manner, a lead partner must initiate the movements.

God choreographed our lives to be an expression of His beauty and grace, a dance that will thrill us and inspire those who watch it. We, however, hinder that dance because we struggle to give God the lead role. We stumble because we don’t trust Him. We question His next step. We move in an opposing direction because we dislike the “moves” He designed. We resist our dance because we envy and seek the dance God created for another.

Consider the dance God has ordained for you:

“For we are God’s handiwork, His workmanship, recreated in Christ Jesus, that we may do those good works which God predestined (planned beforehand) for us, taking paths which He prepared ahead of time, that we should walk in them, living the good life which He prearranged and made ready for us to live” (Ephesians 2:10).

Seek to know the nature of the One who longs to lead you:

“The Lord earnestly waits – expectant, looking and longing – to be gracious to you. He lifts Himself up that He may have mercy on you and show lovingkindness to you” (Isaiah 30:18a).

When we question and resist God, we hinder the beautiful dance He choreographed just for us. When we question His timing, feeling as if He isn’t taking the lead, we forfeit the blessings He longs to give:

“Blessed – happy, fortunate, to be envied are all those who earnestly wait for Him: for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy and His matchless, unbroken companionship” (Isaiah 30:18b).

Will you follow your Lead Partner? With eyes fixed on Him, will you wait with anticipation for His next step? If you will, your life will become the exquisite dance that He planned for you.

As Britain’s leader during World War II, Prime Minister Winston Churchill inspired his country and other allied forces to tenaciously fight against Hitler’s regime. Addressing President Roosevelt’s concerns about involving America in the war, Churchill said, “Here is the answer which I will give to President Roosevelt…We shall not fail or falter; we shall not weaken or tire. Neither the sudden shock of battle nor the long-drawn trials of vigilance and exertion will wear us down. Give us the tools and we will finish the job.” With the miraculous help of God, and other allied troops, Churchill was true to His words.

Jesus’ disciples were faced with a seemingly impossible situation. Drawn by the authority of His teaching and His ability to heal, thousands of people had followed Jesus to a remote shore on the Sea of Galilee. As evening drew near, the crowd became hungry. The twelve came to Jesus and said to Him, “Dismiss the crowds and send them away…” (Luke 9:12).

We, too, have reacted to overwhelming situations in the same manner as the disciples. Instead of asking God for His wisdom and direction, we have foolishly dictated to Him what He should do. Like President Roosevelt, wanting to avoid involvement in Churchill’s war, the disciples did not want to be involved in the needs of the vast throng.Thankfully, the disciples listened and acted upon the wise words of the Bread of Life. Their lack, five loaves of bread and two fish were miraculously transformed into abundant supply for thousands.

Jesus’ words contain divine power to bring blessing and victory in all circumstances. If Roosevelt had not heeded the words of Churchill, the freedom of Europe and the western world may have been lost. Much more is at stake in the life of every Christ-follower who ignores the Word of God. It is obedient faith in the words of Christ that activates God’s miraculous power over sin and distressing circumstances. Draw near and be sustained victoriously by His Word.

“For whatever is born of God is victorious over the world; this is the victory that conquers the world, even our faith.”

1 John 5:4

Throughout history, many battles have been won because defending troops anticipated the time and location of an enemy attack. In the Battle of Gettysburg, a key turning point in the American Civil War, a contingency of Union soldiers defeated a much larger Confederate troop. Their success came, in large part, because Major General George G. Meade and the Union leadership anticipated that the Confederate army would try to advance to northern territories through Gettysburg. It was a decisive victory, the beginning of the end of the war.

As children of God, we are in a daily battle. Our enemy is Satan and he is poised with a contingent of soldiers ready to attack us:

“Your enemy, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, looking for someone to devour” (1 Peter 5:8).

Satan is joined by rulers and authorities, powers of this dark world and spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places (from Ephesians 6:12).

The location of the battle is our mind. Satan’s weapons are lies:

“I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your mind may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ”

(2 Corinthians 11:3).

Satan’s goal is to lead us away from Christ. We position ourselves for victory by anticipating these attacks, and arming ourselves with our God-given weapon, the Word of God:

“We demolish every argument and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ”

(2 Corinthians 10:5).

Don’t be taken by surprise. Though your enemy seeks to devour you, the contingent of One on your side is far greater than any troop Satan may send against you. Resist him by standing firm in, believing, God’s words of truth. And be encouraged, you are not alone. Your brothers and sisters in Christ throughout the world are undergoing the same battle.

“The God of all grace, who has called you to His eternal glory in Christ…will make you strong, firm and steadfast. To Him be the power forever and ever. Amen.”

1 Peter 5:10-11