WAITING ON GOD 3: JOY WHILE WAITING

Joy While Waiting

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world. John 16:33 KJV

We must first not assume that we've been promised a life without troubles

So your waiting seasons should not be filled with;

 "God why me?"

"God why do you hate me so much?"

"God you've forgotten me" etc 

I mentioned in an earlier part of this series that we need to see waiting seasons as hallways leading to new seasons/doors of our lives.

You know when you are about to board a plane and you wait in the boarding area after check-in, you don't see it as suffering. You understand it to be a standard procedure as the plane is packed properly at your boarding gate. So first, see waiting seasons especially the difficult ones as standard procedures.

You cannot escape life's difficulties. If any preacher tells you there is a way to live without it, they lie. Being a believer doesn't shield you from the difficulties of life too.

Look at what the man with the red ink said: In this world, you would have many troubles

Not may. It will happen, whether you like it or not.

But what did He say again? Be of good cheer!

Rejoice!

Don't squeeze your face!

Do you know why? Joy is a keeper in the waiting seasons.

Consider it wholly joyful, my brethren, whenever you are enveloped in or encounter trials of any sort or fall into various temptations. James 1:2 AMPC

I love this translation. Consider it wholly Joyful

Not forced or partial joy. Or Joy because your pastor said it is Joy that will help you get out of this difficult season.

Consider it wholly Joyful!

Every part of the trouble,

Every part of the wait,

Count it all Joy!

Troubled times,

Waiting periods,

They are occasions for Joy. Not a time to sulk or be bitter about waiting. Not a time to get impatient or complain about what you are facing. It is a call for Joy!

We were meant to have covered this particular teaching a while back but I also got into a waiting period that I totally understood o, but I did not count it Joy one bit.

I was literally in a God I see what you are doing, I totally get it, I have now accepted it, but I'm not smiling about it too. If you give me the chance to have my way, I will choose differently. So I somehow delayed the teaching (circumstances worked together for "my good" too 😂). I mean, how will I be teaching what I'm not accepting in a present situation. I should be subbing myself with teaching 😭

The funny part is, these words are not alien to us, it is not today we've heard this scripture. In fact, I've been in many count it all Joy situations where I counted the Joy very well. However, I learned something in this season, that every time the enemy comes, he is trying to prove the same thing (in greater measures and different perspectives). But if you just pause and look deep, you will see that you've been here before. It is not your first life trouble and it won't be the last. The enemy is just banking on you to magnify this particular situation and tell yourself you are suffering.

One of the things I got in this period was: Your case is not special.

In my head, I was like na wa o. There is really nothing you are going through or have gone through that heaven has not seen before.

That urge to magnify the problem is not from God. The enemy wants you to stay in a "This is suffering" outlook. Note this, I am not denying that waiting seasons are painful, I am saying instead that our focus is not on the pain.

Every time we step into a waiting room,  we do a happy dance for that waiting season. The happy dance is not to get out of the waiting season o, it is for that waiting period.

Rejoice in it.

There is a translation of that verse that says Consider it pure Joy

“Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy.” James 1:2 NLT

Consider it a great opportunity for Joy!

Consider your waiting a great opportunity for Joy.

Consider your painful wait a great opportunity for Joy.

I'm putting this in perspective so you know that the Joy is not for the days when you are not feeling the pain of waiting, it is while you feel the pain.

Your response to the pain is that you are a great opportunity for me to rejoice.

God's design is that Joy is there in the process, in the waiting and not just the fulfilled promise or what we are waiting for.

You know why? Joy is strength in waiting seasons. It is also a waiting quickener.

When you have strength, you walk faster, you move faster.

The enemy is banking on you not trading Joy as a currency so you can be delayed in waiting seasons.

Then he said to them, “Go your way, eat the fat, drink the sweet, and send portions to those for whom nothing is prepared; for this day is holy to our Lord. Do not sorrow, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.” Nehemiah 8:10 NKJV

Do not sorrow, for the Joy of the Lord, is your strength. For every time we trade in anything other than Joy, we are losing our strength battery.

Again, you need that battery full to enter the season ahead, and the charger for that battery is Joy.

So now we know that Joy is an important part of the waiting seasons and it determines how long we wait.

This moves us to Joy Busters.

What are the things that actively fight against our Joy in waiting seasons? It is important you recognize them and see them as the enemy they are.

1. Worry and Anxiety 

The Holy Spirit had to point this out to me. Like it's okay, drop it. I will watch my word to perform myself. Stop worrying and being anxious.

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; Philippians 4:6 NKJV

Be anxious for nothing

Don't worry about it. Stop overthinking it. That overthinking is stealing your joy.

2. Resentment

You can't resent a waiting season and expect to be joyous in it still. Stop hating that season you are in and the process.

Pray about it if you are here.

Ask God to take out the resentment and give you a new perspective.

3. Control and wanting to have every detail

These things are here to steal your joy. You are not in control.

Leave the rein for God. You won't have every detail too. Pray for grace to be fine with whatever God has shown and to move with it in Joy.

4. Comparison

Stop looking at other people's process and using it to judge yours. You are reducing your battery doing this and you need all the strength you can get to move forward. One thing I'll advise to do in waiting seasons is to never lose sight of the promise/word of God, stay rejoicing in it.

For those that fly often, your boarding gate leads to where the plane is packed. You are advised to go somewhere around the boarding gate to wait.

Do you know why? So you don't miss your flight.

Don't lose sight of God's promise.

Keep it close even in waiting seasons.

And most importantly, rejoice in them.

 

Personal tip:

Spend time just dancing daily;

With or without a beat,

Just dance to God  and watch the weight of waiting removed.

Also, see how clarity comes and things begin to shape up.

WORDS FOR THE MONTH OF AUGUST 2023

Prophetic Watchword for the Month of August

> Of New Beginnings and a Chance to Restart 

> Of Restoration and Life

> Of Breakthrough, Achievements and Accomplishments

> Of Rejoicing 

> Of Success, Additions and Gains 

> Of Speedy Answers

> Of the Direction and Leading of the Lord

> Of the divine timing of God

I will make a way in the wilderness

Breakthroughs

Doors that will appear from nowhere

Parted ways from nowhere

From seemingly closed doors

Every dry place becomes well watered

Help is on the way

Help is heavily on the way

You are thrown into a season of rejoicing

Though the sorrow may have endured for a night

The divine timing of the Lord is seen at play

Divine orchestrations

This is the appointed time of the Lord

You will see the hand of the Lord

Every missing pieces suddenly begins to appear

Everything that needs to show up for things to work out, we begin to see them

We receive from the Lord in this month of August

Everything will speed up

Riches stored in secret places, we receive

New all round

The window is open

There is a window open for manifestation

For the hand of the Lord to move

For everything we have lost, this is the season of restoration

The enemy never even stole it in the first place

I see things being returned back to people's hands

I see graces that we stopped enjoying beginning to flow back

I just keep hearing, "take it back, it is yours"

It is yours, take it back

New achievements

Things that we have struggled to achieve before now

Grace is released now

Because it is the divine timing of God

We have entered into the time of the Lord

Breakthroughs and a marching forward

Gushing water begins to flow

Where you've been seeing emptiness go back and look again

Overflowing

The blessings will be so much that there will be leftovers, like the 12 baskets left

Losses are replaced with gains

All round

I am giving you a chance to restart

I sense prophecies that have tarried, the Lord says, "August is that appointed time"

I see fresh visions

The direction and the leading of the Lord

"Go there and you will meet water"

Things will happen so fast, with speed

Accurate speed

You will not need to look for long before you see

It is the month of success

All round success

It is the month where the Lord makes things to happen for us

Where the Lord Himself is giving us success, quickly

But Isaac said to his son, “How is it that you have found it so quickly, my son?” And he said, “Because the Lord your God brought it to me.” Genesis 27:20 NKJV

This is exactly what I see, God delivering it Himself

We are lifted this month

The Lord Himself delivers to us

Surely you shall call a nation you do not know, And nations who do not know you shall run to you, Because of the Lord your God, And the Holy One of Israel; For He has glorified you.” Isaiah 55:5 NKJV

“For as the rain comes down, and the snow from heaven, And do not return there, But water the earth, And make it bring forth and bud, That it may give seed to the sower And bread to the eater, So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me void, But it shall accomplish what I please, And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. “For you shall go out with joy, And be led out with peace; The mountains and the hills Shall break forth into singing before you, And all the trees of the field shall clap their hands. Isaiah 55:10-‬12 NKJV

Speedy answers

The timing of the Lord.

We are in that season, the divine timing of the Lord

Again I will build you, and you shall be rebuilt, O virgin of Israel! You shall again be adorned with your tambourines, And shall go forth in the dances of those who rejoice. Jeremiah 31:4 NKJV

Word of Instruction

- The places you have been seeing emptiness, go and look again

- Abandoned fields, look again

Water flows again in Goshen

The Lord says, "I dare you to look again. Just look"

WORD FOR JULY AND THE SECOND HALF OF THE YEAR

Word for the July and this Half

The better half of the year:

> Of answers

> Of fulfillment

> Of speed and flight

> Of testimonies

> Of ease and rest

> Of an overflowing barn 

There is a release of fresh water

All things work out for our good

It rains heavily upon us

No delays

Things begin to happen with speed and accuracy, with precision according to the word of the Lord

We receive grace to excel and succeed

The things we have failed at before now but we know we received a conviction, this is the season

Channels open up in the spirit that activates the words of the Lord

 With ease, accuracy and precision

According to the word of the Lord, exactly as I have spoken

I saw a dam completely shut and all of a sudden it was torn open and water began to gush out

Testimonies abound

Starting July 1st

We receive this as a sign from the Lord

Exceedingly, abundantly above what we have imagined for this year.

This is what is delivered to us in this 2nd half

There is a coming together

An ingathering

We experience the favor, goodness, and blessings of the Lord every day

Open doors

 Channels are opened.

Of blessings

Of favor

Of grace

Off opportunities

I saw a truck filled with goodies inside of it, it got to a roadblock and I saw someone that has been waiting for a long time.

And the person just stayed expecting what was not coming. Then I saw the roadblocks being removed.

 All of a sudden, I saw the truck develop wings and instead of taking the road, it began to fly.

I'm relieving heavy hearts

Speedy answers

The waiting seasons are over

Because the Lord Himself delivers that which He has promised

You will not need to go for it, I deliver it Myself to you.

No more delays

Answers are here

Testimonies are here

Speed like never before

 You have not seen this, you have not seen this

It is like the speed of light

New jobs, new opportunities

Opportunities you think you are not qualified for

I see God giving some people visibility

Men see you and you will wonder who told them

The Lord is making you visible

I see an olive pressing

New wine is here

Steady answers

Victory

I am clothing my own

I spread love

Ease has come

The Lord says I will hold your hand and I will give your inheritance

No limitations

I myself will make it easy

The help for the Lord is here

The Lord raises help for you

I see an assistance of the Angel army

Behold, the former things have come to pass, And new things I declare; Before they spring forth I tell you of them.” Isaiah 42:9 NKJV

I remove pain

 Give, give to those in need

I saw for someone trouble may arise at your workplace, the Lord Himself will speak for you.

When records are checked, they will see excellence

Overflowing in our barns

New opportunities are here

I keep hearing it

Go all out

Don't be scared

I heard this in Yoruba, Mo ti e leyin

I am behind you

New opportunities are here

I keep hearing it

Go all out

Don’t be scared

I hear this in Yoruba Mo ti e leyin

I am behind you

Move with it

Try them out

Don’t think you are not ready for it

Don’t think it is not time

I keep hearing new opportunities and it may look like this opportunity cannot be for me, the Lord is saying go all out.

Do not think you are too small for what the Lord is doing.

Stay in the leading of the Spirit this season.

Showers of blessings

Heavy downpour

All things work together for our good

Answers are here

For someone I hear forgiveness, it is time to let go

Burdens are lifted

Heavy burdens

They are lifted

We walk inside of the goodness of God

Worries are cast out

There is a new level of grace activated

A grace that commands immediate result

The Lord has made a way

The Lord has gone ahead to clear paths

Increase like never before

Accuracy in decision asking

You know exactly what to do

Exactly what to invest in at the right time

No regrets in this season

Fruitfulness

I heard this as we were praying:

As much as it is a receiving season, it is also a giving season.

As the Lord leads you to give in this season, even to the most random person (parents, pastors, strangers friends, etc), do so with all cheerfulness.

What you are giving out is old stock.

As the Lord lays it in your heart to give, do not hold back

WAITING ON GOD 2: HOW TO ENGAGE GOD'S SILENCE IN SEASONS OF WAITING

How many of us have been in a place where we are waiting on God concerning something and it's just silence through it? Or God is even speaking to you but He is not addressing that exact situation?

I have been in this place too.

Where I am waiting on God for a thing, I am praying and to the best of my knowledge I have checked everything that needs to be checked, yet I am still in the waiting room

It is not even being in the waiting room that is the problem. It is the deafening silence in such times. In moments like this, we start wondering what is happening. "Has God abandoned me? Or maybe I didn't hear Him well the first time?"

God's silence, while we wait, can make us feel a type of spiritual abandonment. You will almost doubt everything you know to be true.

About three o’clock Jesus cried out loudly, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” This means “My God, my God, why have you left me alone?” Matthew 27:46 ERV

At about three o'clock Jesus cried out with a loud shout, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why did you abandon me?” Matthew 27:46 GNT

And at three o’clock Jesus shouted with a mighty voice in Aramaic, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” —that is, “My God, My God, why have you deserted me?” Matthew 27:46 TPT

From noon to three, the whole earth was dark. Around mid-afternoon Jesus groaned out of the depths, crying loudly, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” which means, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Matthew 27:45-46 MSG

At about three o’clock, Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” which means “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?” Matthew 27:46 NLT

Why have you abandoned me?

This was Jesus asking God 

This was God asking God!

Read that again.

Whatever we are feeling, I need us to know this: Christ has been there.

Be comforted in this knowledge, that you do not have a high priest that doesn't understand your plight or is disjointed from your pain. God understands how you feel. (hold this somewhere)

Jesus groaned out from the depth of his heart.

It wasn't a silent "God why you allow this thing happen." He cried out loudly from a place of pain.

His pain wasn't  "My God, why did you allow Judas betray me.", "Peter is going to betray me, why?"

Christ's pain was in the silence of God.

Why have you turned away?

Why have I been abandoned?

Why have you forsaken me?

What an alarming question. And coming from Jesus that never for once complained, that was always doing the will of the Father.

And guess what? The part that actually humbles me is that, though Christ cried out. Heaven gave no response. God maintained silence!

No miracle. No word of comfort. No "don't worry, it is almost over. This is for a good cause" blah blah, not even a sign to show that I am here

This really paused me. Like this is your best soldier God, this is you, Christ is God.

For everyone feeling abandoned or forsaken by God, I want you to know that you have a high priest that can relate. Of course, we will never suffer the way Christ did but in His suffering of the silence of God, He has demonstrated to us that we may not hear a word but God's plan is still in the works. At that moment when Christ was crying out, it was definitely a bad Friday from the level of pain.

But today, what do we say? Good Friday!

There are moments in our lives when we wonder where God is, but He is right there walking alongside us. 

And this brings me right here:

God's silence is a matter of perspective

It depends on the angle you are looking from.

We will start with the case of Jesus.

Christ felt abandoned and forsaken. But was God really silent? He had already spoken.

What Christ was going through at that point was really the pain of a process. God had spoken.

His speech was His love for humanity. His word given as a covenant that Christ would come and die. He would die in our stead.

While God may be silent, know that He is in a constant state of communication with us. So it means that you may be fixated on hearing a particular thing but what God is speaking to you is strength and courage.

Again, silence is no indication that God is not working or has stopped working, or God doesn't care.

Look at Lazarus. When Jesus heard that Lazarus was ill, he didn't move. He stayed where he was for 2 more days. This could have been interpreted as neglect, as Christ neglecting His close friends. But guess what, if Christ had come immediately Lazarus would have been healed and men may never know that it is possible for people to be raised back from the dead.

In the silence of Christ, Mary, Martha, and even we are drawn into a new dimension of God.

So what do we do when we are faced with the silence of God? How do we respond?

1. Draw Near

Draw near to God and He will draw near to you James 4:8a NKJV

So many times, in seasons like this, what we tend to do is stay away from God;

We stop going to church

We stop fellowshipping 

Or we are just doing it absent-mindedly

On days when silence is what you are met with, move closer. Stay even deeper in fellowship. When the bible says to draw near to God and He will draw near to you. It doesn't mean that God is waiting for you to come close before He moves also. As we draw closer, we get to see exactly how near He is to you. Our eyes are opened to His proximity to us. We begin to see His love revealed all the while we were thinking He was silent. We come to a better understanding of His purpose.

Our patience is built

Our strength is increased 

Our hope is renewed

It is in this place of drawing near that we begin to count it all Joy. We are filled with Joy despite the frustration.

It changes our countenance completely

It changes our frustration about the situation

Sometimes, we even get to find out that He was speaking, we just couldn't hear because we weren't standing close enough.

Also know that it is okay to ask God questions. He is your father, lay your heart bare before Him.

 

2. Stop fixating on the silence. Instead, engage God in prayers

Look at Habakkuk

He didn't stop speaking to God. He kept asking and praying and guess what?

God responded to him;

Then the Lord answered me and said: “Write the vision And make it plain on tablets, That he may run who reads it. For the vision is yet for an appointed time; But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; Because it will surely come, It will not tarry. Habakkuk 2:2-3 NKJV

God's response was probably not what he wanted. It wasn't a quick fix, but it came with assurance and instruction.

"Though it tarries, wait for it"

For some of us, this is what we will hear as we wait.

I'm actually in a season such as this, I don't want what it is and I have told God but He is not minding me.

At some point, He stopped speaking altogether and now the only thing I hear is "Though it tarries, wait."

It truly doesn't answer the full questions I have but it carries an assurance from God that it will happen. So, back to the waiting room.

 

3. Don't make your own quick fixes

Some of us go ahead to do when God is silent. We do what we think is reasonable/right.

Reminds me of the Israelites when Moses had not come down from the mountain and they went to build idols. Silence is not a pass for you to step in, God doesn't need your wisdom. Again, we must learn patience while waiting.

I purposely made that appear in the first part of our series. Don't conjure answers for yourself.

 

 4. Accept God's sovereignty

I've been singing this song since last week:

Sovereign God

You do as it pleases you

Sovereign God

 

But am I really happy about how He does these things? Am I satisfied in them? We must first accept that God is sovereign. And when we say He does as it pleases Him, we must recognize that it pleases God to make all things work out in our favor.

That He can do and undo doesn't mean He is set out to frustrate our lives.

God delights in you

He has the best plan for you

And this too is etched inside of His sovereignty 

So when you don't know or understand what is happening, hold on to the knowledge that whatever is happening, it is God in charge of it and God's plans for you are always good!

 

5. Remind yourself whom you are waiting on

Nothing is difficult for God. His silence doesn't mean that He is stuck and does not know what to do. Far from it. Say it to your innermost being.

Remind yourself constantly who your God is, do not lose sight of this revelation of Him;

“I am the Lord, the God of all mankind. Is anything too hard for me? Jeremiah 32:27 NIV

 

6. Rejoice

Don't be so fixated and worried about the silence. Instead, rejoice! You are probably wondering why you should be rejoicing right?

Well, rejoice because your God is working. The problem is our shouts go up based on what we see.

We are not of this world, our reactions are not tied to the happenings around us.

If you cannot hear His spoken voice, go to His written word.

Encourage yourself in it

Rejoice in it

Let the word stand above your situation

 

7. Continue to Wait

What to do when God is silent? Don't stop waiting.

Remember what I said last week about the tiny strands being joined together?

Don't interrupt the process. You just keep waiting on the Lord.

 “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:24-25 NKJV

This was written inside of Jeremiah's cries. This period was a time when Jerusalem was going through despair. This was after they had been captured by Babylon.

Yet, what did Jeremiah write? The Lord is my portion!

I will not stop hoping

I will not stop believing that He will come through

I will wait!

This should be our disposition also.

WORDS FOR THE MONTH OF JUNE

Words for the month of June 

The month of the grace, mercy, favour, goodness and the love of God 

Of the blessings of the Lord 

The month of full bloom 

Of completions and rounding off

Of testimonies and congratulations 

Freedom from limitations 

Of a gathering, increase and additions

Grace

Mercy

Favour 

Goodness

Oppressions have come to an end

Profitless labor has ended

Of full bloom

I just keep seeing blooming flowers all around

All blooming at the same time

We are embraced by God in this month

We step into favor in this month

There are no setbacks

There are no delays

There is speed and abundance 

As many that are ready to receive it is available

I heard "God can do it."

Debola Peperempe: Because there is power in my name all chains are broken

Those words which I have told you 

There is perfection in this month

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke?” ‭‭Isaiah‬ ‭58‬:‭6‬ ‭NKJV

People are witnesses of the great things which he will do in our individual lives

There is no lack

God has gone ahead of us and removed obstacles in our way

Walk with me because I am already walking with you

A rounding up 

Bringing into completion and perfecting 

Doors wide open

Doors wide open on their own accord

Testimonies all round 

This is a month of testimony

Even testimonies that we thought that the enemies my had cut short, that you thought you would never see  

I am putting new songs in your mouth

Rejoice in the Lord, I say again rejoice

Profitless labouring has come to an end

I am not done

There is more

Nothing changes God, He says to remind us. Do not respond to circumstances that you see. Focus on God and let your eyes be on Him

Greater things

I give authority to you, speak exactly as you want, try me and see

The store house of the Lord is full

Be grounded in the Word this season. It will help you go far

Dead situations are coming back to life, dead situations are receiving life

 Speak to everything dead, speak to everything as if dead

Life and death is in your tongue

That which you want dead begin to kill, that you want life to begin to speak life to

Never ending testimonies

Unexpected miracles

For someone I hear “recognition”

He says I am not done with the approvals, I am not done with the promotions

I have set before you an open door that no man can shut

 No more delays

I see someone jumping over

A rain of miracles

I see the Lord touch the heart of someone towards you. There's something that belongs to you in their hands and the Lord softens their heart towards you.

I am not done with the approvals

 I hear heavy rain

I see a bunch of keys

 Showers of blessing 

There is perfection and completion of the words and works of the Lord

I hear the sound of congratulations

The month of congratulations

Dry bones rising

I am coming in an unexpected way

For someone I hear this : A si e ni Oju

Your eyes are opened

You see 

Clarity comes 

Dry bones rising

In their numbers

Again, the testimonies are so much

In their numbers

Dry bones rising

Plenty congratulations in the air

So many I can’t believe it

A complete turnaround

A complete turnaround of things

Blessed ideas

No just new, blessed 

Some of them will be old ideas but not they are blessed ideas

There is a shedding of the old, and the wearing of a new garment

So they yield

There is a yielding for you

What you see in the atmosphere is not your lot

I am your lot

 I am your portion

I determine yours

Don't be distracted

 The land yields its increase

I see someone with skin issues and it cleared

The report you await, it is in your favor

That sickness has come to an end

Shame and reproach is taken away from you

For someone, I hear the word PLAN WELL

 I am here

Shame and reproach is taken away from you

They’ve told you it is not possible. Look, I say it is possible

My word is all the proof you need

Go all out 

No holding back

Go all out 

I hear strength

The Lord is breaking barriers

For someone I hear MUTE. I see a situation where you will really want to speak (from emotions) but God says to be mute. The Holy Spirit will remind you. don’t give in

Obedience

To obey us better than sacrifice. Have you not sacrificed enough? Obey obey

Enlargement

There is a turning around for the better

Fa ra bale, Calm down

Accruing

I keep hearing Accruing

Stay still, stay in the Lord

Increase is here

There is a gathering

Shackles are broken off 

The Egyptian you see today, you see them no more

I the Lord bring all things to pass. Allow Me

You break free from limitations

Rain

Free from your limitations

It rains and pours heavy

The Lord weeds out this month

He adds back

There are many additions

Because I remain the KING, I will keep to my promise

WAITING ON GOD

What exactly does it mean to wait on God? 

Q: From our lives as Christians, what does it mean to you when you hear to “Wait on God?”

Answers:

Bukky: For me, it means to trust and hold on to God's promises till they come to pass without having to do too much to force things to happen by yourself.

Sumi: I think waiting on God is allowing only God's will to prevail in our lives and at the time he wants it to happen.

David: It means to seek the face of God, or to seek God's mind concerning an issue

Fola: For me, waiting on God means letting go and letting God take the wheel. Total dependence on God in faith & patience until his promises visibly come to pass.

Better: Waiting on God is to seek his face, to get instruction.

But those who wait on 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.  Isaiah 40:31 NKJV

In this scripture, we see what happens to those that dare to wait, and it is so much benefit, so much. All is attained just by waiting.

A lot of us believers want to get to the part where we are soaring like eagles, where we have renewed strength, where we are running without tiredness in sight, but we've not learned the concept of waiting. We assume waiting to be difficult.

I checked the concordance for the Hebrew word used in this verse and I'm going to share here. The Hebrew word for ‘Wait’ is qavah (kav waw) and it figuratively means to bind together like a cord.

You know when you want to make a strong rope but you have tiny strings, so you bring together these strands and begin to tie them. You begin to twist them until the rope attains the strength you need it to. That's what the word implies here.

I don't know if we've seen ships or boats being moored, they use a really strong rope so it doesn't cut and the ship is packed safely. Passengers are not even advised to board a ship/boat that is not moored yet.

I also know you are not allowed to unboard also. The ship or boat must first be moored and what they use is this strong rope.

So many times we assume waiting to be passive and a space of inactivity. But know, waiting is not that. Waiting is not what we simply do until we get what we want. Waiting is the process of becoming!

It is the stringing together of tiny strands until it becomes a strong rope.

So when we say we are tired of waiting, what we are really saying is that we do not want what we are in fact waiting for.

One thing the Lord told me while preparing for this sermon is that: Waiting times are longer because the rope is not strong enough yet.

It cannot safely moor the ship/boat. If we allow the not-so-strong rope/cord to be used, what we are really aiming for is a disaster. The boat may capsize or people coming out of it can be injured because it is not tied firmly.

The waiting season is not God punishing you.

It is not even God testing you with different things to see if you are faithful (a lot of believers wrongly assume this). Waiting is God preparing, it is God strengthening you and it is God readying you for that season ahead.

Tiny strand by tiny strand, He keeps adding until it is strong enough. Now here is the thing with our (in)activity in the period of waiting; what you do while waiting can prolong waiting seasons.

I will use that same scripture to explain. Imagine adding tiny strands of weak ropes together and there is a wrong movement that keeps interfering with the process, it is possible that this fiddling cuts the tiny strands of rope already added because they are not strong or bound yet. What this means is that the person doing the binding will have to start again, that is waiting time extended

This brings me to the next definition of waiting; 

Waiting is us allowing God and aligning with His purpose (the end result) with no interference with the process. Please be careful in your interpretation of "no interference".

So how is this demonstrated? Active dependence on and total obedience to God.

Like I said waiting is not passive, it is not inactivity. With the scriptures, we've been able to prove that waiting is a major activity. It is the activity that leads to that opened door, blessing or new chapter. 

Let me use another analogy; 

It's like becoming a doctor. My process here is courses I had to pass, the studying and the knowledge amassed. The longer I take to get this knowledge and pass, the longer my process in becoming a doctor.

Waiting and Impatience

Let a child tell you they want sweet or biscuit now and you say not yet because they've probably had too much sugar today, you are most likely going to get a tantrum from them, an emotional outburst.

The child doesn't understand why daddy is not giving them sweet even though daddy can afford sweet. You see, a lot of us are like kids when it comes to waiting.

Our impatience seeps through.

For every time we do not get what we want at the time we think we should get them, we switch to Big Daddy (aka God) must be a bad person for withholding this from me or He doesn't love me.

Emotional outbursts. 

It shows in our mood, it starts reflecting in our attitude to people around us and even to God Himself. 

God telling me this made me pause.

It really opened my eyes to a lot. I've been in that place where waiting affected my mood all round.

As we grow in Christ, we must come to an understanding of these things; reactions and postures expected of us as mature sons.

Another thing God pointed out to me on impatience is that it is right there in your daily attitude sometimes. If you are impatient normally, you will not grow patience overnight in waiting seasons.

It reflects! Now, an action point I'd like everyone to write down is this:

Intentionally increase your patient limit in cases where it is running out (even when you are justified). So normally if you will complain about such stuff after like 2 days, increase your patience and make it like 7 days.

Intentionally take back any lashing or emotional outburst that is tied to someone delaying you or "wasting your time." Just a simple, “Alright, no problem. I will wait an extra day.”

No whining or anger.

Patience

Patience is an important part of waiting on God. We live in a fast-paced/tracked world;

"How to become a programmer in 1 week and earn 1 million dollars". We are in a "NOW" world.

Our generation wants everything fast (maybe the generation before us too and the ones before them 😂)

Immediate answers

Immediate maturity

Immediate growth                       

Patience is a key aspect of waiting on God.

I need us to check the meanings of patience online and share.

Fola: the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, problems, or suffering without becoming annoyed or anxious. Tolerant and even-tempered perseverance. The capacity for calmly enduring pain, trying situations, etc.

 

Even-tempered perseverance even while waiting. Calm even when it looks like the wait period is long.

I repeat this, there is no impatient waiting when it comes to waiting on God. It is either you are waiting patiently or you are not.

There is a reason patience is a fruit of the spirit! It is a strong ingredient for waiting.

The new bible dictionary defines patience as God-given restraint in the face of opposition. The KJV says to stay in calmness without discontent or even murmuring.

I think I love the New bible definition for that; God-given restraint. It is why patience is a fruit of the spirit. It is only the spirit that can produce such in a man.

Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. James 1:4 NIV

Let perseverance finish its work! Let patience be full.

So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing. James 1:4 NLT

Let it grow. Let your patience be tested. Stop running from situations that test your patience.

If you let that patience work in you, the end result will be good. You will be mature and complete. You will be all that God wants you to be. James 1:4 ERV

Seeeeee!

You have to let patience.

There are no cutting corners in this school. Patience is what brings perfection.

Again, I want us to go back to the definition of patience that we shared.

Assignment number 2

Write those definitions out and replace your name with patience. Then check yourself to see where you are lacking. Please take this assignment/action point seriously. It is your one ticket to being a beneficiary of this teaching.

When I personally did, I realized I am an impatient person. I have definitely fallen short in one of these definitions and while pondering, I randomly remembered a friend of mine who struggles to get everything.

No switching of seasons without major struggles, nothing comes with ease. It's always stressful and when it eventually does, the excitement may not be there anymore and it was laid in my heart to insert their name in this patience definition.

I realized that they too like me are impatient, very very impatient.

It then dawned on me that the reason this person struggles for everything is this impatience. They've been prolonging seasons of their lives because of impatience and now it looks like they just don't get anything with ease. Whereas, it is simply because they've not learned how to wait.

My God! So many of us are here.

Right here in this boat. Patience has to finish work for completion to happen. There is no entering the promise without waiting and waiting has patience as a major ingredient. You cannot bypass it.

To be patient is to be content in the passage

To be content in waiting 

To not be eager to leave the waiting room

To be okay with the process that brings strength and perfection. Not murmuring or complaining at all while at it.

 

Word For The Month of May 2023

 Word for the Month of May

> Month of no disappointment

> Of Ease

> Of rest

> Full and overflowing joy

> Entering into the promises of God

> Of Possibilities 

> Of the help of the Lord

> Of the carrying of His Spirit

LISTEN TO THE AUDIO HERE

A season where we are carried by God

The season of the help of God     

And the backing of his mercy

Where we are carried by God and helped of Him

What flows out to us is ease, fulfillment and a performance of everything the Lord has said. A fulfillment of everything that is due.

For someone, seasons are fastened for your sake. What it takes men 10 years to do, you do in a short time.

Peace that surpasses all understanding.

Favor that causes men to do things for you

No I do not speak of luck, I speak of God, I speak of Me.

For the Lord carries you completely,

He’s not just lifting or pushing or propelling us into new levels,

He’s giving wings, we’re soaring into new levels, above the usual level

You will not have to overdo anymore

Ease has come because I JEHOVAH am doing the carrying.

I am carrying you into destiny

The right people will look for you

Look around you, eagle’s wings are here, eagle’s wings are here

I see the struggles, I see the lonely nights

Look, strength like no other is here,

Sustenance like no other

I do not just push you up, I keep you up

That which we ask for in the pace of prayers, immediately they become ours

New opportunities

Assurances of answered prayers

Mercy

The direction of the Lord

Month of plenty

Month where there is no hindrance

We enter into the month with joy

We will marvel at the way you will do the things you are set to do

In you my eyes see the goodness of the Lord

You begin to have experiences that can only be traced to this time. Your testimony will be that “God carried me”.

I tell you, you have received a cheat code.

When the enemy comes, remember, you are carried. That help has come for you.

For someone, I see wisdom that translates to wealth

Deut 28:12 NIV The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none.

Everything not planted by my father is removed

Contrary words are destroyed. I see a pulling down of long huge trees and I see the angel of the Lord set fire to the root of that tree

Favor 

I hear the sensitivity of the spirit

Saw someone with a lot of eggs and they also looked like precious stones. I saw them trying to guard them and the enemy threw a stone on the path and the person stood up to check what was thrown and the person stood up to check and I just hear sensitivity in the spirit and I just heard I will watch over it myself. I don’t need your strength.

God says he is watching over, he delivers his promises himself and I just want us to begin to declare it

Favor

I hear sensitivity of the spirit

"In this month of May, there are no disappointments." Pray this prayer if you're waiting on something that requires the approval or review of others.

New ideas

New insights

Favor upon us

Approvals 

New appointments

Sealed deals

Promotions 

Increment 

I hear tripled income for someone in this month

When you check your barn at the end of the month, it will be more than you have ever gathered

No losses 

Again, no disappointment

You enter into all I have promised 

I carry you myself 

I carry you myself

Help is released

Help is here

Look around you at the help of God

Full and overflowing Joy

Ease, rest, fulfillment of all that is due

We are inside of the plan of the Lord

Ordered steps

None will be helpless

Go out and do the impossible

You are not without help

Eagle vision

Go out and do the impossible

Because their name has changed

No longer impossible

For you, they are no longer impossible

God is righting every wrong against you

The Lord has made room for me

A complete turning of tide

Season of breakthrough

For people that have experienced a lot of losses this year, the Lord says, "I have replenished"

I see a fattening. The Lord says I am adding to you. I am increasing you on all sides.

I see a well and I see joy in it and I see the angel of Lord hand everyone a fetcher and he says to draw