Six Days of Marching

I am extremely impatient.  I always have been.  When I was growing up, I was always looking forward to the next thing, never fully enjoying the moment.

As I have grown older, I have began to pray for patience.  God continually puts me in a holding pattern to teach me different things.  Currently, I am in one of those times in my life where I know God is moving me in a different direction, but He hasn’t opened the doors for me to move through them yet.  Because of my impatience, it has been driving me insane because I am ready to move onto the next thing!

During a recent conversation with close friend I explained to him how I felt.   He reminded me of the story of Joshua and the battle of Jericho.

Here were some points he made:

• God already promised Jericho to Joshua before he ever set foot on the perimeter of the city.  God has already done that for me too!  He already has in store for me where He wants me to be, and is preparing me during this “wait-and-see” time.
• God didn’t just give Jercho to Joshua, but told Him that he was to walk around the city six times.  God isn’t just going to give me my next thing, but is asking me to be patient and wait on Him to give me what He wants me to have.  Things happen in His timing, not ours.
• Joshua told his troops to be quiet.  In Joshua 6:10 he said “Do not give a war cry, do not raise your voices, do not say a word until the day I tell you to shout. Then shout!”  For now, God is requiring me to march around the city and be quiet.  When he tells me to shout, then I  can shout.  Until then, I am supposed to put one foot in front of the other, march quietly and be obedient!
• God does these sort of things so that we will give Him the glory, not glorify ourselves.

How sweet it will be when I finally get to shout.  God’s plans for me are so much better than the plans I make for myself.  I can’t wait until I see Him knock those walls down for me.  Until then, I will keep marching with my mouth shut and wait on the Lord!