A woman, in her mid-fifties came to share a testimony in one of our church services one day. It was an applaudable testimony. Summarily, her testimony was that she had never got pregnant in 28 years of marriage. Then two years ago (about four years now), she picked some instructions from the pages of a book, converted that into faith-powered action steps and kept her expectations positively high. Then, that same month…. she got pregnant! Now, after 28 years, she is a mother of twins…! Praaaaaiiiise the Lord!
I joined in praising the Lord! I was indeed moved! I danced also to 'everybody look-look, see what the Lord has done'.
But somehow, deep within me, I had questions! Has she really been waiting on the Lord for a child for 28 years or she has been slack, slothful, inactive and faithless for 28 years? It could be any of the two.
We need to be careful what we celebrate and how we understand what waiting is in the verse: "but those who wait on the LORD Shall renew their strength;" Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)
There is a borderline between 'being slack, slothful' and 'waiting on the Lord.'
I have heard a number of people use the verse 'I am waiting on the Lord' as a description of their passive states. To wait upon the Lord is a great demonstration of trust and confidence. It shows a demonstration of dependency on God.
But before we applaud the 'waiters', please let's also wait here to consider whether we are actually 'waiting on the Lord' or we are sleeping away in irresponsibility!
Waiting, whether upon the Lord or upon whoever is not a virtue in itself if you have not done the needful. It's sad that some things we are waiting on him for are also waiting on us to take responsibility.
"From the days of John, the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it". Matthew 11:12 (Berean Study Bible)
Sirs and Mas, we all need to understand that God has BLESSED us already! If we will be as RESPONSIBLE as we should be in claiming and appropriating his blessings on us, we all will operate effortlessly in full potentials. We are not called to a life of laziness or slothfulness, sitting around waiting, when we have not reached the end of our responsibilities.
The five Foolish Virgins waited also, but when the groom came, they could not make it. While waiting, keep doing all that is needed. Keep eating the Word, keep confessing more and more, keep praying, keep learning new skills, keep meeting those you should meet, keep going for personal development programs, keep keeping on as you wait.
Waiting in the context of the Word of God does not mean a period of slothful retirement or a period of handling over your responsibilities to God; it only posits that in your pursuit of God… keep your hope in him.