Day 158: Work While You Wait

Psalms 130:5-6

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, in His word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.

Acts 12:5

So Peter was kept in prison, but earnest prayer for him was made by the church.

I recently watched a sermon by Pastor Rich Wilkerson Jr. and as he began to talk about waiting on God, he said something very real and very profound. He said, “Waiting on God, for a lot of Christians is code for doing nothing.” I could not agree with this statement more. Sometimes we get to thinking that God will do things for us that we can do ourselves. We tend to get lazy because we’re ‘waiting on God to do something in our lives”, A lot of times we don’t even know what we’re waiting on God for, the pastor told us to wait so that’s what we’re going to do. example, we want money and need money but instead of going out and filling out applications for jobs we sit in the house waiting on God to provide a job. We sit around waiting for God to send someone to give us some money. If we want God to move for us, we have to be willing to take the first step. We have to be willing to do the things we can do for ourselves and then leave the rest up to Him.  

I knew a pastor that had the entire church convinced that if they sat at their mailbox all day and waited on the mailman a check would show up. People were literally waiting by their mailboxes all day. He had people convinced that waiting on God meant waiting in the house for a check. That waiting on God meant doing nothing, and  God will show up. He even had the congregation convinced that if we wanted a job all we had to do was pray and God will send it to us. That all you had to do was pray and have faith and that was it. In my experience that is not how God works. Even the Bible says “faith without works is dead.” (James 2:17) While I do believe that God is a miracle worker, I also believe that God will not do for us what we can do for ourselves. He’s not going to magically put an application in for us at a job. If we want a job we go and apply and then we wait on God. God will come through for us, but in the meantime, we have to do something. Doing nothing and waiting on God are two completely different things.

In Acts 12 Peter in thrown into prison, and while he is in there the people on the outside are not only waiting for him to come out but they are earnestly praying. They did not sit around crying and talking to each other about Peter being in prison, or wishing that he was home. They wasted no time in praying to God for Him. They were waiting on Peter but in the meantime, they were praying for him. We have to work while we wait, we have to worship, we have to pray, we have to continue life while we are waiting on God. While we’re waiting on God, we can keep serving, we can pray for others, there’s a lot we can do while we wait.

By no means am I telling you to jump the gun and move before God tells you to. What I’m saying is don’t use waiting on God as an excuse to be lazy. We have to take a few steps for ourselves, we have to do things for ourselves. We have to step out on faith, take a step and God will show us the path and lead us on this journey. God has equipped us with the tools and abilities to do things for ourselves. God completes the things that we cannot finish, He does for us what we cannot do for ourselves. He does the heavy lifting. Wait on God but work while you wait, don’t use it as an excuse to do nothing.

Reflection

1. How do you wait on God?
2. What is your definition of waiting on God?
3. Do you use waiting on God as an excuse to do nothing?

Prayer Time

Allow your answers to the above questions guide your prayer today. Talk to God about what it means to wait on Him and what to do in the meantime.

I love you, I hope you have an amazing Day or Evening. Be sure to share this with someone and come back tomorrow for Day 159!