Remembering God’s Faithfulness and Waiting for His Timing
“Then they believed his promises and sang his praise. But they soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold. In the desert they gave in to their craving; in the wilderness they put God to the test.” - Psalm 106:12-14
Oh the Israelites… if there’s any group in the Bible that reminds me of my utter human-ness, it’s these people. Over and over again, God proved His faithfulness to them, freeing them from slavery in Egypt, rescuing them from Pharoh’s pursuit, and yet, very quickly they turned to complaining, fear, and other gods! Over and over again!
Psalm 106 says it well: when the Israelites saw God’s goodness to them, they were glad. They believed Him and praised Him. But then things started going downhill quickly. The verse says they “soon forgot what he had done and did not wait for his plan to unfold.” Their forgetfulness and impatience led them straight into sin, and the same is true for our lives.
We can so easily be like the Israelites. One minute we are on top of the world, sure of God’s goodness and faithfulness to us, but we quickly forget and turn away. Whether it’s our worry and fear or something in the world that looks more enticing, we drop our guard and focus our attention away from God.
I unfortunately do this all the time. In my own life, it’s hard to wait on God and trust He will come through for me again, even if He just did so. When I fail to keep God’s faithfulness at the front of my mind, I turn to anxious planning and try to force things to work out in my own strength for my own favor.
Yet my plans never lead to fruitfulness the way God’s do. Like building muscle working out, it takes practice over and over again to choose God’s way over our own. And it’s often very hard because God doesn’t do things as quickly as we’d like. Yet waiting for God’s timing leads to blessing and peace.
When you’re in a moment where it seems like your way is quicker and more satisfying than waiting on God, stop. Take a breath and wait. Give yourself space and time to make a decision rather than giving into whatever feels good in the moment. And trust that the Lord is with you and ready to give you wisdom and guidance. Trust your Good Shepherd and His good plan.