The Importance of Waiting

I have heard many people say that they are applying for a job or position, and they believe that if it’s God’s will for them to do it they will get the position, and if it’s not then they won’t.

Now I do agree with that to a certain extent – IF they prayed about it and God showed them they should apply. But I don’t think that if they apply anyway and get the job then that means it is God’s will. God does work everything for our good – but is it really what He intended them to do?

When I read biographies of missionaries I see them waiting on God. They pray and wait till He shows them what to do. They don’t go for it anyway and take things going well as His direction unless He has already showed them they should go that way.

 I firmly believe that we need to pray first for God’s direction before we even apply for something, and then wait till He shows us whether we should apply or not. Otherwise we can easily end up in the wrong job, wasting time, or being too busy.

 But there is a major thing that is needed for this. And that is patience. God doesn’t always like to show us things straight away so we need to wait patiently till He does. I have waited for a whole year before for God to show me what to do.

The important thing is not to move until He shows you, otherwise you are wasting valuable resources and time.

Once when I was at university I prayed to find out if I should rent a flat with some friends of mine. They came to me and told me that day was the last day so I just agreed to it anyway because I thought, “Well I’m going to need somewhere to live next year!”

But I paid for that room for a whole year and didn’t live in it once! Now I wish I had waited to find out from God, and since I didn’t know by the deadline just said no. It is better to wait if you don’t know with big decisions like that.