In the last post, Lynmarie discussed those sweet promises we receive (through Prophetic Dreams, Prophetic Words, or the Scripture) that don’t look like they’re going to come to pass, but eventually and with significant testing and battle… do.

Sometimes the Lord promises us something sweet, and a season which could be termed bitter stands between us and the fulfillment. So how do we handle those seasons… those seasons of waiting?

Waiting is something most of us hope to avoid because we’re not naturally equipped to actually get into the “waiting” mode. Why?

Well, it defies what we’re all about as people, especially these days. I wonder how much money is spent each year in the corporate world trying to motivate folks to stop waiting and get moving.

As parents we scheme, plan, push and pull our kids to overcome the inertia of “teenage”, hoping to find that little fuse we can light that will cause them to ignite and get propelled into the right direction.

There were a few things I as a young person, learned about waiting. First of all, that paint dries too slow! I got tired of having to repaint things because my fingerprints were all over them.

Also, the number of hours the sun shines in a day wasn’t enough! When the sun went down and I couldn’t ride my bike, and the night hours took too long. The clock actually seemed to slow down when the sun went down.

And when I had to save my money to buy that esteemed favorite thing that I wanted… holy cow, waiting was an eternity. One day while I was waiting it hit me; suddenly I realized that I could actually beat “waiting” for my allowance. I began to go into my neighborhood and solicit mowing grass and yard jobs. Then one day I realized that my parents’ house needed painting on the outside…Oh yes! Money began flowing my way. The more I mowed and painted, the faster it came. Hot dog, I had just beat the waiting game… or so I thought.

As I reveled in my brilliance and ingenuity, I noticed that fall had arrived; and as the leaves turned and fell and the temperatures started to go down…the grass stopped growing and it became too cold to paint outside. And I couldn’t ride my bike in the cold weather.

But I was tenacious. I tried riding a motorcycle over a mountain pass at night while it was snowing just because I couldn’t wait for better weather!
Crazy as it sounds, I was motivated to work and enjoy life because I really liked beating “wait”. But as I grew older, got married and had 5 kids, and continued to be self- motivated in my business and personal life; something eventually happened that forced me to wait on God.

Not understanding it at the time, I had violated one of God’s laws, and the walls began to crumble as my life imploded. In God’s timetable as I was nearing our 25th anniversary, I began a season of oppression that would last fifteen months.

Like Nebuchadnezzar, the King of Babylon when he became like a beast of the fields; I wandered in my wilderness at distance from God.

I lived each day just having to wait for this season to end. Each night was a new trial to make it through to the next day. Each day I had a new ailment. Of course the doctors tested and found nothing… because my problem was spiritual and had eventually come full circle to envelope me.

Now stuck physically, emotionally, and spiritually- I couldn’t work. I couldn’t focus or concentrate. I was a total basket case. I had fallen into a pit and I couldn’t get out… the only thing I could do was “wait”. I guess “wait” had snuck up on me when I wasn’t looking and taken me to the ground.

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Sometimes we are forced to wait on the promises we’ve received from the Lord to be fulfilled in our lives.

I scoured the Bible everyday gathering promises and words from God trying to figure out what could actually deliver me.

Friends prayed for and over me often, and I began to get prophetic words that indicated that God did have a plan for the rest of my life and that I would live to see brighter days. BIITER/SWEET PROMISES were in place. And the question was… how long would I have to wait?

Like one of our daughters dreamed, I was “locking the doors and boarding up the windows of my house”, but nothing seemed to change. I took care of the spiritual business God instructed me to, and continued to wait.

When would I get delivered? When would I be able to work again? When would I be “normal” again and be able to concentrate and be productive like before?

My wait was painful. I had to dig deep with prayer. I had to wait by praising God even though I wasn’t feeling it. In my waiting, I poured God’s word into myself even though I felt no different afterwards. I learned how to just hang on even though I couldn’t see the light at the end of the tunnel.

As time passed and I accumulated more prophetic promises, I grabbed a hold of those words with all my might. I forced myself to quote scriptures out loud all during the day even though I remained pressed down. It was unbearably uncomfortable. I was in a deep depression. My wife had preached day and night to me as long as she could, but it just bounced off. She eventually turned me over to the doctors to be checked into a mental facility. I wanted to hope. I wanted to believe, but only God could save me.

As it turned out, God used my waiting as a time to get me fully delivered and strengthened for the rest of my life. He crushed me and then turned the ashes to beauty. My deliverance was sudden and sweet as promised!

I know now what it looks like when there’s no light at the end of the tunnel and you just have to keep on keeping on. Walking forward in the dark is scary but eventually rewarding.

Everything I learned in my “wait” would serve me in my subsequent life and ministry. How could I have ever been able to relate people who were experiencing similar things?

Our Heavenly Father promises in Isaiah 40:31, “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Many things cause us to wait. God uses them all for something good.

There is a light at the end of the tunnel that you’re in. The tunnel is not as long as you think. It’s not as deep as you think. You must learn to encourage yourself. Speak God’s word out of your mouth and into your own ears. Praise Him when you’re hurting. Speak victory when it sounds ridiculous coming out of your mouth. God honors the ridiculous. He honors your prayers when you are totally broken. He hears you in your desperation. Nothing can keep Him from you.

This all reminds me of an inspirational song my wife and I enjoyed when we were in our first black gospel praise group. Watch this video from beginning to end. Take encouragement from it. You’ll make it…He promised!

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WATCH SONG ON YOUTUBE While You Wait- Joe Pace, CO Mass Choir

While you wait, you might have to stand in the rain.
While you wait, there may be some heartache and pain.
While you’re waiting for your promises to be fulfilled in your life,
Remember God is not late, so just praise Him while you wait, wait.

While you wait, your friends may not stay by your side.
While you wait, your eyes may ache from the tears you’ve cried.

Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes with the morning light.
God’s never late, so praise Him while you wait, while you wait.

While you wait, you can hold your head up high.
While you wait, know that very soon you will fly.
While your waiting for your promises to be fulfilled in your life,
Remember God’s never late, so just praise Him while;
God’s never late, so just praise Him while;
God’s never late, so just praise Him while you wait, wait, wait.
While you wait, keep on believing, keep on believing.

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Remember: Each of us receives our own dreams, and each of us knows our own state of affairs. Dreamers are intended to make the best interpreters of their own dreams as they grow in understanding of the parabolic language of dreams.

I’m not you, but that’s my view! Every Blessing!

Raymond

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