The waiting room in the hospital is the most uncomfortable room in the hospital. It creates anxiety, fear, depression, agitation, grief, sorrow, helplessness, deep concern, worry, doubt, and the like. Some may say the operating room is the most feared but I say it is the waiting room. In the operating room you know someone is doing something to help you but in the waiting room all you can see is nothing, absolutely nothing. You don’t see the work happening,; you don’t see the doctors operating; you don’t see bones being repaired; you don’t see healing taking place. What do you see? You see nothing. Why do we dread the waiting room?
We want instant results. We want to know loved ones will be healed and well and they will be released immediately from the hospital. The truth is long weeks of endurance and patience of recovery take place. Yet we as Christians still want the instant gratification of a being spiritually fit and strong. We want to be instantly sanctified without placing our heart into the process. We want the artificially enhanced food approach: make it feel good, make it taste good, make it smell good and do it as quickly as possible without me touching any of the ingredients. Let me just press one or two buttons and I want to be satisfied. We cry out, “God we love you”, “Lord we place our life as a living sacrifice”, “We will go where you send us”, but we truthfully do not make it reality. We love the feeling of God but detest the process of holiness.
What are hell’s traps for the 21st century believer?
*Love of Self. Everything is about ME. In church, work, school all must serve MY needs first.
*Fast Promotion: Give me the title without the character. (Pastor, leader, director, teacher, etc)
*Secrets vs. Process: Show me the immediate secrets of holiness so I can live without any righteous sorrow of sin in my life. Let me possess the secrets of the Bible but forget why waiting is mandatory. I want the secret knowledge instead of the Father who teaches a lifelong journey.
*Prayerlessness: Why pray?! I have Youtube series of how to overcome everything in life. I can listen from the preacher what I need to know. I can study in seminaries and colleges. Prayer? What’s that?! This is what is crippling the church of Jesus Christ! We want the glory of God without spending time in the prayer closet alone. Let someone else pray, let someone else fast, let someone else cry out for souls of men but I will just cherry pick the blessings without knowing God personally. Where is prayer in YOUR life?
*Avoiding the Poor/Needy: Our culture has permeated pride and the worship of pride into the church. Spirit-filled believers are avoiding the poor and needy to spend time with the wealthy and famous preachers/believers/churches. (I do not discredit large ministries but take caution to its idolization from Christians). We love to spend time with the person who we saw on TV preaching or on some Youtube channel or when we saw them at a large conference yet we push away the thought of being with the poor. We have become prideful. Take a test. In your church, in your own family is there a HEART purposed for serving the poor? (Homeless in your community, a poor relative/family, cancer patients, etc..) We have a world in need of real hope yet we prefer to throw in a dollar or two to send someone else to do the job.
*Fast Promotion: Give me the title without the character. (Pastor, leader, director, teacher, etc)
*Secrets vs. Process: Show me the immediate secrets of holiness so I can live without any righteous sorrow of sin in my life. Let me possess the secrets of the Bible but forget why waiting is mandatory. I want the secret knowledge instead of the Father who teaches a lifelong journey.
*Prayerlessness: Why pray?! I have Youtube series of how to overcome everything in life. I can listen from the preacher what I need to know. I can study in seminaries and colleges. Prayer? What’s that?! This is what is crippling the church of Jesus Christ! We want the glory of God without spending time in the prayer closet alone. Let someone else pray, let someone else fast, let someone else cry out for souls of men but I will just cherry pick the blessings without knowing God personally. Where is prayer in YOUR life?
*Avoiding the Poor/Needy: Our culture has permeated pride and the worship of pride into the church. Spirit-filled believers are avoiding the poor and needy to spend time with the wealthy and famous preachers/believers/churches. (I do not discredit large ministries but take caution to its idolization from Christians). We love to spend time with the person who we saw on TV preaching or on some Youtube channel or when we saw them at a large conference yet we push away the thought of being with the poor. We have become prideful. Take a test. In your church, in your own family is there a HEART purposed for serving the poor? (Homeless in your community, a poor relative/family, cancer patients, etc..) We have a world in need of real hope yet we prefer to throw in a dollar or two to send someone else to do the job.
The Bible repeatedly reminds us to wait on the Lord:
Psalm 27:14: “Wait on the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:14: “Wait on the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.”
Psalm 37:9: “For evildoers will be cutoff, but those who wait for the Lord, they will inherit the land.”
Christian author Stephan Armstrong says, “When we seek instant gratification approach to our Christian walk, we will inevitably grow frustrated as our efforts to produce spiritual fruit take longer than we expected or desired. Frustration leads to discouragement, and ultimately we may abandon the basic disciplines of the Christian faith. Conditioned to believe every good thing is quick and easy, we may rationalize our poor spiritual disciplines with thoughts like, “Prayer takes too long to see results, studying the Bible is so boring, and fasting just isn’t good for my metabolism.” We may live in the age of instant gratification, but there is no such thing as instant sanctification this side of heaven.”
Do you resist trusting God in the waiting room he has for your life? Do you find it easier to take things into your hands and move things along? Is it time for you to ask the Lord to teach you to trust him fully? Find time to wait inside the prayer closet.
The Good Doctor-Jesus Christ, always has good news for us in our spiritual waiting room for when He is done working on us, we become holier, more humble, joyful, and full of courage to finish the work He has prepared for us.
Wait on the Lord!
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