Photos by Ralph Freso / Slideshow
Restaurants apps help cut down on customers' time to be seated. Companies, such as Amazon Prime, deliver packages as fast as the same day. And double drive-through lanes mean getting your fast food even faster.
But there’s no finite or reduced time when it comes to waiting for God, said Nick Ely, lead pastor of Christ Church Central Phoenix, at Monday's Chapel in GCU Arena.
Ely, a Grand Canyon University alumnus, captured the attention of students who recently returned from Thanksgiving break to explain what it looks like to wait on God, “because every single one of us either are in or are headed into a situation or a circumstance where we will be forced to wait," whether it's after a fractured relationship or during an illness or other physical ailment and we're reaching out to Him.
He stressed five ways for us to wait on God, including expressing our confidence vocally.
Ely referenced Psalm 62, in which David seeks to maintain his focus on the Lord as the one who will save him from his troubles.
Ely recited Psalm 62:1-2: “For God alone, my soul waits in silence, from Him comes my salvation. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress, I shall not be greatly shaken.”
David lived frequently in the gap between what was promised and when that promise came to pass, encountering situations in which he faced betrayal and threats on his life.
Through that strife, David said God was his rock, his salvation and his fortress in showing faith in God’s dependable character.
“Say what God's word reveals about His faithfulness and His goodness and His power and His character.” Ely said. “And as the words come out of your mouth, in a confession of truth, God will use those words as a means of grace to remind your heart that those things have always been true about Him. And that the waiting has not changed His character.
“It has not separated you from His grace. It's not taking you away from all of the good things that He intends for you. So express your confidence in Him vocally as you wait on Him, and God will meet you there in a special way.”
The second way we should wait on God is by acknowledging our opposition openly.
Ely loves the example David provides in Psalm 62:3, in which he does not cave into enemies who are trying to knock him down like a broken fence.
“He faces it full on, and he acknowledges openly the opposition and difficulty and suffering that faces him,” he said. “And this is what Christians are able to do. Christians do not have hope, because we are willfully ignorant about all of the difficulty and suffering and sorrow in the world.”
The third way to wait on God, Ely said, is knowing that He is "speaking to your soul, hopefully."
Psalm 62:5 virtually represents a “pep talk” of Psalm 62:1, and Ely marvels over David’s reinforcement of the truths about God.
“So refuse to speak accusation, falsehood, despair and fear into your own life,” Ely said. “And when you catch yourself, speaking those things to your own soul, you need to do what the Bible calls, taking every thought captive.
“You need to say that that's a lie from the pit of hell, and that's not going to serve me or help me, and you need to go to God's word.”
The fourth way to wait on God is by knowing He is "speaking to my soul honestly.”
Ely provided a scenario in which tension in a relationship is suddenly alleviated with a burst of information and emotion at the end of a tirade, followed by an apology and relief.
“David says if you want to wait on God, then pour out your hearts to Him, that you know that God is eager to hear from you, where you really are and what you're really dealing with,” Ely said. “God is not afraid of what's going on in your heart, in your mind, even the negative stuff, even the hard stuff, even the painful stuff. He wants to hear it from you.”
Ely concluded by stating the fifth way to wait on the Lord is to place our trust vertically.
Waiting can entice those to place their trust in people or in things that make them feel secure while running to solve problems with “earthly measures,” Ely said.
“If you place your trust in material things, or in money, or in resources, or in what you can accumulate or to achieve, that will eventually fade and fail, too,” said Ely, referencing Psalm 62:11, which states that "God has spoken once/Twice I have heard this/That power belongs to God." “So if it's not money or material things, then where in the world will I put my trust while I wait?”
God is the answer, Ely said.
“So no matter what situation you are waiting in, and no matter how long you are waiting for, my hope and my prayer is that you will know that when it comes to God, you are waiting with Him, and that His presence and His promises will be a very real and tangible comfort and encouragement to you as you wait on Him and trust in Him."
GCU News Senior Writer Mark Gonzales can be reached at [email protected]
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