Waiting. Waiting is not something we are too terribly fond of. We are not terribly good at it either. Yet, life is full of waiting periods.
Right now I am waiting. I bet you are too---praying and waiting. Struggling and waiting. Anguishing and waiting. Crying and waiting. Questioning and waiting. Anticipating and waiting. Watching and waiting. Waiting, waiting, waiting.
There are so many different things I am waiting on. The hard part is understanding that I need to dive in and work alongside God to tackle my life together WITH Him. I think there are a lot of things in life that we have to partner with God regarding-all things are this way actually. This is in regards to our OWN lives. We can help others along the way but we cannot FIX others or partner their lives with God for them. They must live their own life and partner up with God too. We cannot do that for them, only for ourselves! And we must all do this. God is the perfect partner. He wants that. He wants to be our guide, our friend, our strength. We need to trust in Him and His ways. But we need to realize that He also calls us to action, not complacency or surrender to self-pity. No bench-warming.
We all have circumstances in which some waiting is required. We have to use wisdom and our God-given brains to know that life DOES require us to get off our rear ends and get in the game. So many times I see people sit back and wait. Sit back and give up. Sit back and complain. Sit back and stagnate. Sit back and feel sorry for themselves. This gets them no closer to their goals and the life God wants them to have, it actually gets them further away. It is counterproductive.
Understanding that God has His own timing is not a "free-ticket" to sitting out on life and waiting for God to bring us all we need, want, or desire on a silver platter. God does not work that way. God did not come after me when I went to the "far country". NO, He did not! He waited on me. God waited!! Wow, to think that there are those of us who want or need or desire SO MUCH and yet decide to sit back and wait....well, what if God is waiting on YOU??? What if nothing changes until YOU get up, get off the bench, and get in the game?
What if you are waiting on God to bring you a mate? What if you never put yourself out there? What if you remain in your comfort zone? What if you simply rot away all alone in your comfort zone? What if YOUR mate is attending a bible study that God nudged you to go to? What if he or she is volunteering at church and you haven't made the time or commitment to do so too? What if he or she is in the game, following God's nudges and living life amongst good, active, Christian people? What if God's trying to "hook you up" and you are sitting back and waiting? God is not going to walk up to your front door with the mate of your dreams posed prominently in the middle of that silver platter. HELLO? God works in mysterious ways, but not like that. We all know that --but---we live life in such a way that our mate would have to be delivered to us like that in order for us to be available to it. Mark my words, it won't happen like that. Wake up and partner up with God. Stop waiting for that doorbell.
What if your life is falling apart? What if you don't understand why you feel so alone and so abandoned? What if you don't understand why things get worse and worse instead of better and better? Could it possibly be because you are curled up in a ball feeling sorry for yourself? Could it be that you are waiting on someone else/everyone else to bail you out of your problems? What if you are waiting on God to do it for you? BUT--- What if God is waiting on YOU instead? Perhaps YOU are the one who needs to get in the game and clean up the messes in your life. He WILL help you but He won't do it FOR you while you sit back and watch. NOPE. You have to make the first move, take the first step, you have to TAKE ACTION. He will join in and turn things around WITH you. He WILL.
There are so many aspects of our lives that if we take a minute to think about can be bettered by taking action. GET OFF THE BENCH! Partner up with God to improve all of the situations you are WAITING ON. Don't try to do it all yourself--it won't work, but don't take the opposite stance and sit back and wait for the silver platter. Work with God, make concerted efforts to improve your life. He will guide you, assist you, and help you. HE WILL!!! He will not do it for you while you sit back and wait. You must be a participant. I need to grasp this as much as anyone. Even if we are waiting on God's timing we must be out there, in the game, involved, and taking action as He nudges us out of our complacency and comfort zones. He will work in our lives. He will bless us with the JOY we desire and long for--HE WILL! But He wants us in the game, out there living life, seeking Him in all that we do. Stop the "action-less" waiting. Stop stagnating and rotting in your lonely comfort zone. Step up! God is the coach, tell Him you've decided to get off the bench and that you want in the game! Get off the bench, step over the sideline. You cannot win if you aren't actually in the game!
3 comments:
My friend, Charles Hodge, wrote a book entitled WILL GOD RUN. It is based on the parable Jesus related about the prodical son. Great "little" book, hard to find, out of print & all that, but his point was that GOD (the father in the story) did NOT go to the far country to rescue the son. But, AFTER the son took action FIRST by journeying all the way home, God DID run to meet him on the way, gave him a new robe, a ring, and a party. Just like you said, He is waiting for us to get in the game, and when He is in the game with us, we cannot lose if we do things His way. We simply cannot be beaten when we're in the game, on His side, and playing "for keeps."
You said, "...well, what if God is waiting on YOU????????? What if nothing changes until YOU get up, get off the bench, and get in the game?" Ouch! That can be convicting for so many of us, but that is because it is so true!
What a great post! I've recently given up bench warming in many areas of my life. What a tremendous difference it has made in my attitude, my contentment, the joy in life, and most of all my relationship with God. It's amazing what getting off that bench will do for you!
I once heard somebody say, "unless you get a no, Go!" So many of us wait around for God to say "yes" to what we are waiting on that we don't realize that he hasn't said "no". I challenge anybody struggling with this bench warming attitude...if He hasn't told you NO, then GET UP AND GO!!!!
Oh I am such a bench-warmer! I did finally get off the service bench and in the game by getting active at my church. But the whole "getting out there" instead of waiting for God to deliver a husband to my doorstep? I keep telling Coach to put everyone else in first. Maybe it's time to move.
Such a great post Carlotta - thanks. I needed to hear it.
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