Waiting Constructively

It's good to know the 3 Results of Prayer so we can respond biblically.

If we pray and God tells us to wait, we need to make sure we’re “waiting constructively.” 

When my husband retired from the Army, we felt the Lord wanted to send us to the foreign mission field. We thought we’d go immediately, but God directed us to wait. 

During the next ten years, my husband and I gained tremendous work, ministry, and educational experiences. When God directed us to go, we could see how He'd uniquely prepared us for specific tasks for our five years of ministry in Budapest, Hungary. 

But those ten years of preparation were part of His purposes just as much as our five years overseas were (Ephesians 2:10). 

Christians are never standing still. We are either moving forward or backward. The process is every bit as important as the fulfilled goals. 

When God tells us to do something, we need to do it without hesitation! When God tells us to wait, we need to wait constructively. 

In some ways, we are always “waiting” for the next step in life whether graduation from school, marriage, a job, a home, a promotion, a job change, a move, children, grandchildren, retirement, etc.

So take some time today and ask God how you can wait “constructively” for the next step in your life.

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💙Beyond 1-minute for those who want more:

While we wait, in order to prepare ourselves for our future purposes: 

1. We can deal deliberately with our sins. 

2 Timothy 2:20-21: "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for special purposes and some for common use. Those who cleanse themselves from the latter will be instruments for special purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work." 

See A Practical Way to Deal with Specific Sins.

2. We can renew our minds in God’s Word. 

Romans 12:1-2: "Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will."

See Brainwashing Can Be Good.

3. We can prepare our minds “for action,” developing self-control and other godly characteristics.

1 Peter 1:13: "So prepare your minds for action and exercise self-control. Put all your hope in the gracious salvation that will come to you when Jesus Christ is revealed to the world."

See Self-Control in an Out-of-Control World.

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