Discerning Direction - Willing to Wait

Once we are in the place of truly desiring direction from God (see last post), the next step is to consider what our internal time-line might look like.  Whether we admit it or not, most of us have a sense of what it is we really want in our future.  We may not have all the details, but we usually know where we'd like to be and what we think things should look like.  But this is where we have to pause and, again, take that internal audit. 

The logic that flows might be organized in this way:
1.  God is good and wants to give good gifts to His people (Jeremiah 29:11, Romans 8:28)      
2.  God is omniscient and therefore knows all that will occur (Psalm 147:4,5)
3.  Thus if He wants good for us, is able to work all situations for our good and His glory, AND He knows all (and so isn't surprised by anything), He is worthy of our trust.

But this is where the rub comes.  Referring to Paul's writing in Romans 12 it has been said that the problem with a living sacrifice is that it always seems to crawl off the altar.  We are often willing to follow Him, as long as it doesn't hurt too much or take too long.  The reason we must check our motives again is because God's time-line is rarely ours.  One of my favorite passages in the entire Bible is found in Genesis 41:1.  We read that "Two years later, Pharaoh had a dream..." and then the passage goes on.  Looking back a few chapters, we see that Joseph has already faced physical pain and imprisonment, and now we read that he's still in jail for at least another two years.  We can quickly skim over those words as we rush forward to hear about the positive aspects of this story, but pause and reflect that it took Joseph at least two years before things truly began to turn around.  I can imagine that during those long nights in the prison, Joseph had to have questions for God (more on this tomorrow). 

But the point is this: the will of God, the purpose He has for us - it often takes time to bring it to pass, and only if we trust Him and His character will be able to wait on Him.  God used 40 years in the wilderness to refine and test the nation of Israel and see what they truly had in their souls.  Walking in the will of God often means patience and perseverance.

As we seek the will of God, we must begin with introspection and ask: do I truly desire His counsel and direction, and am I willing to wait for His plan to be revealed while trusting Him in the meantime?  Two audits down, more to come.

- tC