There is a large rugby park near where I live and I walk around it often. Sometimes there are people training their dogs in the art of obedience. It seems that one of the big disciplines is training a dog to wait. The Master may throw something for the dog to fetch and wants the dog to wait and only fetch when they give the go ahead. Dogs love fetching sticks and balls, and if you had the time and patience, they would do it all day long. They have now invented a long scoop to pick up a returned ball and throw it without having to bend over each time and then project it effortlessly. Back in the day the owner would get a sore shoulder or back from constantly picking up and throwing the ball time and time again.
The disciplined dog has to also learn to not only pick up the ball when they say ‘Go’ for it but also bring it back and lay it at the Master’s feet.
I felt the Lord say that it’s a discipline He wants His children to learn as well. It’s the important art of waiting on God. There is nothing worse than having an undisciplined dog who just wants to have fun all the time. Not only are they best to be kept at home but they can also get you into trouble.
God wants His Children to have fun and enjoy life but they do need to learn to wait on the Master. Our knee jerk reactions are getting us into trouble and dishonoring His name. I see it all the time. Our undisciplined enthusiasm can get us into trouble. We also need to bring all the glory back to Jesus and lay it His feet, not taking it for ourselves.
The bible is full of verses that tell us to ‘wait’ on the Lord. It says in Doctor Google that it appears 106 times in the KJV. Here are just a couple.
“But those who WAIT on the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
Most of us aren’t very good at waiting for the things we desire, but Isaiah shows us how waiting isn’t just an important discipline for believers; it’s actually a blessing.
“For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who WAIT for him” Isaiah 30:18
Unfortunately this generation has lost the art of waiting. With easy credit we don’t have to wait for anything anymore and can get it right now. Most children today don’t have the patience to stick something out as they have always got what they wanted instantly by crying or bad behavior and its created ‘Entitled’ spoilt children. Schools today tend to reward every child even though they performed badly as it can be upsetting for the losers? What sort of generation are we producing?
We are such an ‘instant’ generation who don’t understand the concept of reward for hard work. We don’t understand why we should have to wait? If you are a Christian then waiting is an important part of our training.
Because many Christians don’t know how to wait they end up not enjoying the journey of life. If God doesn’t come through for them in an instant they throw their toys out of the cot and maybe walk away saying, “God has forsaken me.”
The Lord would love His children to learn the art of waiting and only moving when He says so. When we understand this art then He can entrust us with so much more.
I always remember reading of a Prophet in the 1950’s who probably had one of the greatest miracle ministries since bible days, and that was William Branham. He used to have visions of miracles taking place in people’s lives and when God brought them along his path he would pray for them and they were always healed every time, and no hard cases. Something he had to learn was that he had to wait until all the parts of the vision were in place, otherwise nothing happened. If he saw in the vision, a man with a red shirt in the room along with the sick person then he had to wait until that person arrived. This was quite a discipline in waiting that many of us would fail in.
I have often seen people who love to share a word in the Church such as a prophecy, rushing ahead when a thought comes to them. It’s not that it wasn’t from God, but it was for them personally and not for the Church. Our love of being noticed can disqualify us from receiving more from God. We always need to wait on God and ask Him if it is for us or the Church, and do we give it now or sleep on it for a bit?
God wants to raise up a people to carry a greater anointing in these Last Days. It requires discipline especially in the area of waiting and we need to also make sure when it happens that we bring all the glory back to Jesus and lay it at his feet. If you do that He will take pleasure in blessing you over and over again. His arm doesn’t get sore.
“I WAITED patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1
