Waiting On God

Have you ever been praying to God for an answer and yet He remains silent on a clear Yes or No? He seems to be saying that you should just Slow down and wait. Sometimes the Slow down or "not yet" answer is harder than a clear No. Why does God do that? Doesn't He know that we have things to do, places to go and waiting just does not help? Or does it?

This coming Sunday I will be teaching on this most frustrating of all answers that God gives to us. Many of us have been praying for a clear answer on something for many weeks, months and even years.

When I think of God not working on our time table and forcing us to have patience as he continually told us SLOW.......I think of our church's journey from eight people and owning nothing to where we are today. God seemed to never be working on our time table. However, through this 10 year journey we have learned so much and grown in our faith.

If you have been at Team Church (CSF) for a number of years you know that many times we pray for something to happen quickly.....and it happens slowly. We pray for things to happen smoothly and without any challenges and we have had hurdles around every corner. From the early days of this church where we prayed for a place to meet and our first choice was always delayed, to the buying and then selling of the first piece of property, to finally having God allow us to purchase this beautiful land....we have had God say to us "not-yet." Even since owning this land and building our first building we have been faced with many obstacles in our pursuit of what we believe God has for us to do here.

However, along this journey of faith we have always seen God come through in the end. At the end of each challenge we could see why God did not give us a quick Yes and allow things to be easy......but many times gave a Slow. The challenges have made us stronger. The delays have only made our resolve and faith more steel like as we trust in God. Going through SLOW times, challenges and having God not to allow us to have things easy only makes us enjoy and appreciate what we have even more! As this campus develops and grows we will enjoy what we have all the more! From the many sports fields, walking trails and expanding buildings that will be alive seven days a week with people from every age..... God has given us a great place to help reach and impact people with the message of Christ. As we move forward into the next 10 years we fully expect more challenges and Slow prayer answers ....however, we know that God is in control. He has been in the past and He will be in the future.

My guess is that you have been praying too....and God seems to be saying SLOW. This Sunday lets explore the why of that and what we can do about it.

"Success is to be measured not so much by the position that one has reached in life as by the obstacles which he has overcome."
- Booker T. Washington