Waiting

Day three hundred twenty-one

My prayer this morning was focused on the needs of others.  It seems like every year Oct - Dec brings challenges to those around me. I prayed on their behalf.  I prayed for comfort, peace, love, health, strength, courage, softened hearts, and much more. As much as I love them I know that He loves them more and can bless them beyond my capabilities.  I did add something I learned from Nehemiah, "I'm here, send me!" May they feel some extra love coming their way today!

Nehemiah 2

We have all heard the saying, "God loves you and has a wonderful plan for your life."  These are the words that people say to you when you are going through a rough time, usually as a way to comfort you.  You might even be guilty of using these words yourself when trying to comfort others.  I don't know if 'guilty' is the right word to use, but after you hear these words so many times, they start to feel a little cliché'.  However, there is a verse in the scriptures that gives this statement validity:

"For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." (Eph 2:10)

That's right God has something prepared for you and He is preparing you for that work.  He has a plan, the question is are we living so that we can be a part of that plan?  Sometimes it is comforting to know that He has a plan for us and sometimes it's a little scary.  What if He asks us to do hard things?  Hard things are rarely a pleasant experience.

The real joy of these experiences comes when we realize that God has a plan for us and we embrace it.  When we decide to work with Him instead of against Him we will have some of the most amazing experiences of our lives.

That's where we find Nehemiah at the beginning of chapter 2.  It's been four months since his prayer in chapter 1.  He has been fasting and praying for four months waiting for the Lord to guide him.  He is willing to do God's will so why would the Lord make him wait so long?  It isn't that God doesn't want to answer him, God is working during this time, the waiting it part of the prep time. 

God often works in our lives this way today. I am terrible at the waiting period. I am an impatient creature. I pray, and expect God's answer right away. But God often delays his answers. What is God trying to teach me during the waiting period?

Prayer

It is during the waiting time that Nehemiah was learning to pray, to trust in the Lord, and to give things over to the Lord.  It was during this time that his concern would turn into a vision.  Too often we become impatient.  We have a problem and instead of waiting on the Lord we take the matter into our own hands.  The tendency can be to become frustrated with the Lord because He is taking so long to answer.  Instead of drawing closer, we pull away.  Nehemiah doesn't do that, he waits on the Lord. We need the waiting period to learn the power of prayer and to trust God.

Preparing the heart

God had been working on Nehemiah during the four months.  I thought it interesting that He seems to have done this undetected.  Nehemiah says, "I had never been sad in the kings presence before" (v 1).

It was forbidden to be sad in the presence of the king. The idea was that the king was such a wonderful person that merely being in his presence was supposed to make you forget all your problems.  When Nehemiah looked sad, it could have been taken as a terrible insult to the king, punishable by death.

We learned from Nehemiah's prayer at the end of chapter 1 that he had some understanding that the king would be a part of the plan to help Jerusalem.  But Nehemiah hasn't been trying to persuade the king for four months.  He hasn't been dropping hints, he’s been praying, trusting, and waiting for God to work on the king's heart.  It works, instead of being insulted; the king shows concern (v 2)

While the Lord was softening the heart of the king, he was also working on Nehemiah's heart: 

^"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

Nehemiah would need this courage and strength as he will face many challenges in his journey and work in Jerusalem.  We need the courage and strength that comes from waiting to face the challenges in our lives.

Perspective

When we wait on the Lord we aren't wasting time, we are investing it. God is preparing both you and your circumstances so that His purposes will be accomplished. When we learn to wait He will give us strength, hope, and direction.  We learn to see the problem through His eyes.  We begin to see the possibilities of what might happen, what God can do.

Planning

Nehemiah had not been pestering the king about what was bothering him, but because of his prayers and the waiting, he did have time to think of a plan.  When the king asks him what he is requesting, Nehemiah has an answer prepared.  His reply to the king can be summarized in two requests:  'Send me!' (vv 4-6) and 'Give me!' (vv 7-10).

Nehemiah couldn’t leave his post without the approval of the king, nor could he work in Jerusalem without the authority of the king. So Nehemiah had a plan that involved a time frame and provisions needed.  Nehemiah had done his research; he even knew the name of the keeper of the king's forest. 

This is a great example of taking action.  Nehemiah used the waiting period to think of a plan, he wasn't just sitting around waiting for the Lord to do everything.  His waiting period was a time of research, planning, and timing. Ours should be the same.

Provide Time

So Nehemiah shares his well thought out plan and the result is (vv 8-9):

"And a letter unto Asaph the keeper of the king’s forest, that he may give me timber to make beams for the gates of the palace which appertained to the house, and for the wall of the city, and for the house that I shall enter into. And the king granted me, according to the good hand of my God upon me.  Then I came to the governors beyond the river, and gave them the king’s letters. Now the king had sent captains of the army and horsemen with me.

For four months Nehemiah had been earnestly praying that God would send him to Jerusalem.  And when the green light was given, he recognized that the hand of God was upon him.  What a boost of confidence for Nehemiah. 

So waiting on the Lord provided God with the time needed to unfold the plan.  In this time, He prepared Nehemiah, prepared those that He wanted to help, and prepared the supplies to be ready.  It's nice to know that God needs time to do things too!

I'm feeling a little guilty about my impatience after this study session.  Especially since making me wait is just one more sign that God loves me and testifies that He really does have a wonderful plan for me.  I need to be grateful for waiting.  Those are words I think He has been waiting a long time to hear from me.  Thank goodness He is better at waiting than me!