There are a lot of circumstances in life that require patience. Since moving to Minnesota, I have taken up hunting, and I have gone fishing more than at any other time in my life. Both of these sports require patience. You can't expect a fourteen point Buck to walk directly towards your deer stand at daybreak on the opening day. You can't sit over a spear hole, inside your ice house for five minutes, and then expect to have a fifteen pound Northern staring at your Sucker fish decoy. It just doesn't happen that way. Both activities require immense waiting.
I have learned that good things come to those who wait. I am in the middle of a season right now of waiting. I am seeking the Lord's direction for future ministry. One part of me wants to have an instant download, and for the Lord to give me a clear picture of what He wants for me to do. However, I know that He doesn't roll like that. I know from past experience that God wants me to lean in, to pray, soak up Scripture and to seek His face. In doing that, He wants to refine me and take me to new places with Him. Through this process of molding and developing, then I will be in a place to know His perfect plan.
We have become so use to having whatever we need whenever we want it. We have gotten use to having fast food, smartphones, Wifi, and on and on. Because our culture has engulfed us with instant gratification, waiting on the Lord goes against every fiber of our being. We want to put things in a microwave when God wants us to use a crockpot.
As followers of Jesus Christ, we must develop a willingness to wait. God's Word confirms this truth. Here are a couple of my favorites: Lamentations 3:25 says, "The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him." Isaiah 40:31 says, "But they who wait for 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."
Knowing the faithfulness of God, helps survive the waiting. God's ways and His timing are always perfect. Even when revelation doesn't come in our timing, we can know that God is still at work, even in the season of waiting. In His time, He will make our paths straight. Just be patient.
Last week, I had a lot of time to sit, think, pray and spend time with Jesus. I was deer hunting. Considering I didn't see many deer, I had a lot of solitude and idle time because I wasn't looking at deer through binoculars, or getting my gun ready to pull the trigger, or even following a blood trail through the woods. When you sit, in the middle of the woods, it is very easy to connect with God and hear His voice. There are no distractions. It is peaceful. It is quiet. This is a formula for personal renewal.
As I sat in the stand, the Lord quickened my heart with His word from Psalm 42:1. Of all things, this happens to be a passage that speaks of deer. The verse says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul longs for you, my God." As I sat and reflected about this verse, there was one principle the Lord was teaching me.
I sat and considered the analogy of this verse. Since taking up deer hunting, I have learned a lot about the habits of these animals. Deer get up from their bedding to eat and drink. They will move for miles in order to fulfill their need of hunger and thirst. Deer are known to settle down near a river because water is a necessity to keep them going. Out of all the analogies the Psalmist could have used here, he used the deer and their longing for hydration.
The Psalmist used this analogy as a description for his own personal longing for the Lord. The Lord used this verse, in my heart, as a barometer for my own passion and longing for Jesus. One of the litmus tests for a person's passion for Jesus can be found in how they treat corporate worship in singing. Is worship a time to read the lyrics to a song or is worship a time to give our all and to exalt the name of Jesus? Is worship a time to day dream about Sunday lunch or do we long for the manifest presence of God? There are many things in this life that can get a person excited in anticipation. I was reminded of the anticipation I was having in waiting for a deer to walk out in front of my stand. I wanted so badly to see a large buck come out. The Lord inspired the question in me, "Do I anticipate being in the presence of the Lord just as much?" This was a convicting question.
God was challenging me to anticipate meeting Jesus each and every day, and especially on Sunday. The description the Psalmist uses is a longing. We all long for something. Some fill that longing with the wrong things such as money, sports, popularity, sex or alcohol. The only Person who can satisfy the longing we all have deep down inside of us is Jesus Christ.
Jesus, in a conversation with the woman at the well, talks about the satisfaction we receive from Him in John 4:14. Jesus says, "Whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” Jesus is the living water. Anytime we come into His presence, He will satisfy every longing that we have.
Do you long for His presence? Do you long for more of Jesus in your life? May we take the example of the deer as we seek to satisfy the longing that we have. Only Jesus can truly satisfy. Seek Him. Spend time with Him. Receive Him. Live for Him.
