Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14

Have you ever wondered where you belong in God’s big picture? Wondered what He’s doing with your life? Perhaps wondered what He wants you to do with your life? Or maybe you’ve felt God calling you to a certain work or certain ministry, or even to the mission field. Once you’re in the middle of what you felt God wanted you to do, have you ever been tempted to wonder, “Why am I here?” I have. We’ve spent years on the mission fields, years working in churches, and though there have been many blessings that we can recount, there have also been many times of ‘spiritual drought’ when nothing seemed to be happening, when we seemed to just be spinning our wheels.

Today’s verse tells us to “Wait for the Lord.” Easy to say but not always easy to do. Sometimes we wonder how long we have to wait before we step in and handle it ourselves. The situation might even feel desperate. A circumstance such as this can be looked at in two different ways. We can see it as God testing us to strengthen our faith or the devil trying to defeat us with doubt and discouragement. In reality, it could be both at the same time. Our faith and focus will help us to wait patiently during such trials.

Abraham may have contemplated God’s purpose as “by faith he went, even though he did not know where he was going” (Hebrews 11:8). Think about the early life of Joseph. I’m sure he battled long and hard with some of the same questions after being sold into slavery because of his brothers’ hatred. The three Hebrew men who were thrown into the blazing furnace may have wondered what God’s plan was (Daniel 3), but their unwavering commitment and faithfulness caused them to “wait for the Lord.” Their choice under difficult circumstances made the difference.

It’s not wrong to wrestle with doubts and fears as we wonder what God has in mind. What we do with those feelings is what counts. Even Jesus struggled in his darkest hour, but He said, “Not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:42). In simple faith, let’s do as the psalmist encourages us to do and “Wait for the Lord.” God will strengthen our hearts and minds as he promised.