Waiting on God

Part of my spiritual journey involved a lot of waiting.  Nobody likes to wait, especially me, as I am naturally impatient, but there is no avoiding waiting in life and it is a vehicle God uses regularly to teach us to trust Him.  James 1:4 says, “Let patience have her perfect work that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”  God took me through those seasons of waiting to help me increase my faith and develop my patience. 

One of my biggest challenges, in those early years, was my housing.  I found myself moving from place to place in search of accommodation as I was renting. I hated the constant moving and lack of stability and cried out to God for a council flat. God did not answer my prayer for many years and I could not understand why.  During that time, I continued to attend church and build my faith, despite the episodes of precarious housing I endured, then through a series of God ordained events, He showed Himself strong on my behalf. 

I was encouraged by a couple in my church to enquire about a flat that was selling in Wembley.  Despite my misgivings, I called the agency who told me what I expected- I did not earn enough to be able to buy it.  They then gave me the telephone number of a local authority in West London who were doing a part rent/part buy scheme.  I decided to call them immediately and was informed they had one flat available, and if I wanted to view it, I had to do so now. I  took the bus from work in my lunch hour and was so glad I made the journey. It was brand new,  light and spacious.  God told me to claim the flat and I walked through the property, praying and claiming the land like Joshua.  The next day the local authority called me and told me the flat was mine!  I had been praying for over four years and God was faithful, exceeding my expectations. Whilst I was praying for a government subsidised property, God gave me my own property, and I used the proceeds from this flat years later to buy a house for my growing family. Sometimes we think so small but God has so much more for us than we can even imagine.

Another prayer which took forever to answer was passing my driving test. This was a marathon which tested my faith and endurance to the limit. It took me over 10 times, through many years, to pass my test and each time I booked my test it was disappointment after disappointment.  God gave me dreams of me  driving my car in between each failure to encourage me but I had never experienced so much frustration. Academics came easily to me, I had never failed a test in my life so this experience was a bitter pill to swallow.  But I never gave up and eventually I passed my test with much celebration.  Through much prayer, sweat and tears I overcame- so don’t give up on the Lord.   He is a good Father who is teaching and training you to be a soldier for Him, increasing your strength for the trials ahead.

Isaiah  40:31: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall increase their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”