Have you ever said this – “I can’t wait until…”? What I’ve learned through heart wrenching times of persevering is – I can wait and as I wait, God teaches me how to trust. Here’s part of what I mean by trust.

T ake God at His Word
R ealize God is in no hurry, and rules over time
U nderstand God is with you and often uses time as a tool to shape you
S aturate yourself in God’s Word
T urn the situation completely over to God and take the steps He asks

Take God at His Word. The Bible is full of promises such as God’s love will last forever (Psalm 136), God will never leave us or forsake us (Deuteronomy 31:36), and the fact that God is at work in all things using them to work together for our good and spiritual maturity, and making us more like Jesus (Romans 8:28-29).

Realize God is in no hurry and He is sovereign over time. The Old Testament Joshua-story found in chapter 10 of that book finds Joshua fighting a war. Joshua was so desperate he asked God to make the sun stand still. And God did it. Is there anything God can’t do? God is the same God today as He was then, thou He works in different ways; He is capable of helping you and me in ways we cannot even imagine (Ephesians 3:20).

Understand God is with you and often uses time as a tool to shape you. Clock watching gets us nowhere, God-watching does. Watch for what God is up to in the processes. The great Old Testament God-follower Moses learned how God shapes us through time. Moses’ life is divided into three forty year periods where he waited for God. I do not think Moses would have been ready to progress to the next place with God, without the lessons he learned while waiting. When you’re waiting remember the Psalm that says God will fulfill his purpose for us (Psalm 138:8).

Saturate yourself in God’s Word. A sponge soaks up whatever it is in. We are a bit like sponges. We can saturate ourselves in worry. We can saturate ourselves in frustration. We can even saturate ourselves in bitterness. It doesn’t always feel like we have a choice but really we do … it is a choice what we choose to do as we persevere. Sometimes the discipline of getting into God’s Word and studying feels as if it’s the last thing we want to do when we want something to happen. But I’ve found perseverance pays, and studying God’s Word can yield the richest learning… because God really does want to communicate with me and you.

Turn the situation completely over to him and take the steps He asks. Worry is one of the most destructive tendencies we have but worry can teach us how to meditate. Worry trains our minds to mull over OUR problems. When we meditate, we can choose to train our minds to mull over Scriptures and to let go, making it GOD’s problem. Trust is a choice but in the process the choice makes us… if we don’t give up.