WAITING AND SEEKING GOD IN YOUR DREAMS
Susan Murray
Today’s Scripture: “The Lord is good to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26, ESV
Theme: Yes, work hard, but remember to also wait quietly for the Lord to move the dream forward.
“I HAVE A DREAM”
Dr. Martin Luther King gave his “I Have a Dream” speech on August 28, 1963, while standing on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial. Today is Martin Luther King Day, a holiday honoring him for his leadership and hard work in moving our society and our government to enact new laws to help stop segregation, by moving us closer to racial equality. What a big dream! The civil rights movement started in 1954, yet the laws were not changed till 1968. For fourteen years, Dr. King worked hard for justice based in Biblical truths before his dream began moving society. Of course, there is still work being done to improve race relationships and fulfillment of that dream continues.
WAITING
Lamentations 3:25 reminds us that we need to wait on God. Dr. King and others waited fourteen years for the laws to change. Obeying God and working hard to follow Him still requires waiting. His ways are beyond our vision. “Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How unsearchable his judgments, and his paths beyond tracing out!” (Romans 11:33, NIV). Yet waiting seems unbearable and out of our control, so we stop trusting God and try to hurry things up. Abraham and Sarah were promised a son. When it didn’t happen in their time frame, Sarah gave her slave, Hagar, to Abraham and she had a son by her (Genesis 16, Genesis 21). It caused lots of trouble later, but God, because of His patience and grace, kept His promise of giving Sarah a son. They waited 25 years.
SEEKING
In the waiting, we are not to just sit passively but be active in obeying God while we wait. “I know that there is nothing better for them than to rejoice and to do good in one’s lifetime” (Ecclesiastes 3:12, NSAB). Lamentations 3 begins with complaints focused towards God for all the pain, loss, and darkness the author (likely the prophet Jeremiah) was experiencing. Maybe your dreams are long in coming and your soul feels dark and painful. The author of Lamentations, while waiting, purposefully and with intention reminded himself of something better than his dreams. “But this I call to mind, and therefore I have hope: The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases; his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, ‘therefore I will hope in him’” (Lamentations 3:21-24, ESV).
Waiting has a purpose. God is not being unkind when He causes us to wait. However, He is calling us to seek a closer relationship with Him—unconditionally, and not just for fulfillment of dreams, even good dreams.
ULTIMATE WAIT AND SEEK
The ultimate wait and seek in history is between the Fall when Adam sinned in the Garden of Eden, causing the loss of a right relationship with God till two thousand years later, when Christ came. In His coming, dying on the cross to pay our debt, bringing us back into a new and right relationship with Him, we see the fulfillment of the promises of God. We are now in another time of waiting and seeking; seeking Christ's presence while waiting on His second coming, when He will make all things right in this world for His children. God is also waiting and seeking. He is patiently waiting for you, if you are not yet a Jesus follower.
He is waiting for your repentance and belief in Jesus. He is also seeking you to save you … because He loves you. How do I know this? “For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life. For God did not send his Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16-17, ESV).
Make it Personal: What are your dreams? What are you hoping for in the future? Write them down. What will you do while you wait on God? How will you wait? Psalms 119:105-106 (NIV) says; “Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path. I have taken an oath and confirmed it, that I will follow your righteous laws.” The light that was available in ancient times was just a candle. It gave off just enough light to take one or two steps. You would never see the end of the path you were taking. Ask God what the next right thing you need to do; ask Him for light for your way. If you are not yet a follower, I encourage you to take the next step to receive Jesus as your Savior and Lord today.
Prayer: Father, You are the Creator of all good dreams. You hold them and will move to bring them about in Your time and wisdom and for Your glory. Give us the courage to wait and the strength to seek You, no matter the status of our dreams. Forgive us for not waiting on You and making a mess of things, but I know for sure that those messes never stop Your ultimate purposes for our lives – the salvation of our souls. You are faithful. Amen
Read: Philippians 4:11, Proverbs 13:12, Romans 8:28,32, 2 Peter 3:9
Weekly Memory Verse: “Do nothing from selfish ambition or conceit, but in humility count others more significant than yourselves.” Philippians 2:3, ESV