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Now it happened as they journeyed on the road, that someone said to Him, “Lord, I will follow You wherever You go.”

And Jesus said to him, “Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay His head.”

Then He said to another, “Follow Me.”

But he said, “Lord, let me first go and bury my father.”

Jesus said to him, “Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and preach the kingdom of God.”

And another also said, “Lord, I will follow You, but let me first go and bid them farewell who are at my house.”

But Jesus said to him, “No one, having put his hand to the plow, and looking back, is fit for the kingdom of God.” Luke 9:57-62

Procrastination can have many faces in people’s lives. In the above scriptures, some claimed that they wanted to follow Jesus, but they had excuses as to why it wasn’t the right time. They supposedly were going to wait and do it at the right time. In reality, they just didn’t want to pay the price. They were not ready to fully commit to Jesus. 

The man who wanted to bury his father may not have even lost his father yet. His thought could have been that when his father died, then it was the right time to venture out into following Jesus. This wasn’t about being a responsible and loving son, but it was about him feeling that following Jesus can wait. He was going to procrastinate for several years until a supposedly right time. In the above passage, the other one wanted to say goodbye to his family. Most likely, he wanted to get their input and ensure that they were ok with his decision to follow Jesus. They both had other priorities that seemed more pressing to them than following Jesus right away. They had no urgency for following the Lord.

On the other hand, Jesus likened the kingdom of God to a farmer who is plowing the field. The farmer cannot make any progress in doing his work if he keeps looking back. His focus has to be right in front of him and continue to plow the field.

We see some people who have been raised in the church, walk away from Christ. They feel that there are more important things that they want to do in life than following Jesus first. Jesus is not a priority to them. They don’t think they are necessarily rebelling against Christ. They just think that at some point in time, they will have more time to follow Him.

When we have a revelation of Jesus calling us to Himself, there is nothing more important than choosing to follow Him. We cannot afford to procrastinate. There is no need to wait. He is not a hindrance to our dreams or visions. He is our way maker. When we put him first without procrastinating, He establishes order and clarity in our lives. He changes our hearts about worldly dreams and puts new dreams in our hearts that we never deemed important before.

Have you fully committed to following Jesus? Are there other things in your life that seem more important than following Jesus? Are you timely in obeying Jesus? Or do you procrastinate in following Him? Delayed/procrastinated obedience is disobedience, and it can be costly in our lives as well as those around us.

Sometimes procrastination can look like waiting, but they are very different from each other. A person may claim that it is not the right time, but they just do not want to do it. Since it is not important to them, they just procrastinate. Procrastination may not be noticed by others right away, but the Lord knows that the person is neglecting to take action.

On the first day of the sixth month of the second year in the reign of King Darius of Persia, God’s Message was delivered by the prophet Haggai to the governor of Judah, Zerubbabel son of Shealtiel, and to the high priest, Joshua son of Jehozadak:

A Message from God-of-the-Angel-Armies: “The people procrastinate. They say this isn’t the right time to rebuild my Temple, the Temple of God.”

Shortly after that, God said more and Haggai spoke it: “How is it that it’s the ‘right time’ for you to live in your fine new homes while the Home, God’s Temple, is in ruins?”Haggai 1:1-4 (MSG)

Zerubbabel was the governor of Jerusalem during the time when the first group of Israelites returned from the exile in Babylon. The people made time to make nice homes for themselves, but they claimed that it wasn’t the right time to rebuild the temple. It may sound spiritual to wait for the right time, but the Lord knew the true reason. They procrastinated in rebuilding the temple because God’s house was not a priority to them.  

In reading the subsequent scriptures in Haggai 2, you find that the people did not make much progress because God was not blessing their efforts. He expected them to take care of the temple, but they were too busy trying to make their nice houses. 

This is very similar to our current culture. House prices continue to rise, and people are working harder and longer to afford them. They also commute longer distance to get to the better paying jobs. People run out of time for their family, friends, and ministry. There is a lot of effort, but the return on the investment of time is not as it used to be. It is estimated that to live in the Bay Area you need to be making $300,000 to afford an average house. That kind of income requires high paying, high responsibility, and extremely demanding jobs. Lack of time and stress develops a cycle of procrastination and things that really do matter get neglected. Those who procrastinate may claim that they are waiting for the right time, but it is about having the right priorities. 

Are you procrastinating in certain areas of life? When will be the right time to do something about them? Are you paying your bills on time? How is your procrastination impacting others? Is your relationship with the Lord suffering because other things have occupied your time right now? God is pleased when we put Him first. He blesses our time and efforts, so we can do more with less. I encourage you to try it.

This devotional series has been about the depth of God’s heart on the issue of waiting. Our carnal nature does not like to wait, and our decadent culture has given us every reason not to have to wait.  Furthermore, our expectations and goals in life continue to push us into action and activity, and others will encourage those activities as well. Waiting does not make sense to our carnal nature. It looks as if it is a position of weakness. If we have the power, money or resources to make something happen then why shouldn’t we do it!? Culturally, it seems irresponsible not to do something if you have the power to do it. However, spiritually speaking, waiting  is one of the key ways in making spiritual progress and experiencing the breakthrough that the Lord has for us. 

Below you find a summary of the last five devotionals about waiting on God, and I also share briefly about Jesus waiting on God.  

Wait Patiently (H2342): to dance, to twist, writhe, to whirl, whirl about, bear, bring forth, to wait anxiously, to be born. 

1. In part I of this devotional series, the scripture showed us that there is a wait that is not an easy wait. This kind of wait becomes harder over time and the need for an answer gets bigger with time. Abraham had to wait for Isaac and his waiting became more difficult as both he and his wife grew older. God is fully capable of fulfilling His promises regardless of how long we have waited.

Wait (H6960): to wait, look for, hope, expect, linger, to collect, bind together, to twist, to bind. 

2. In part II of this devotional series, I shared that waiting causes us to be hungry and thirsty. It can either make us hungry and thirsty for the answer or it will take us to deeper places with God and will lead us to be hungry and thirsty for more of God.  God has promised that those who hunger and thirst for righteousness shall be filled. 

Wait (H1748): in silence, silently 

3. In part III of this series, the scripture led us to a waiting that is coupled with receiving God’s perfect love.  God’s love gives us the courage to wait patiently. We are confident that the Lord is working out everything in His timing. There is no fear in waiting, and there is no anxiety or worry about missing out on something by waiting.

Wait (H8104): to keep, guard, observe, give heed, have charge of, keep watch and ward, protect, save life, to hedge about.

4. In part IV of this devotional series, the scripture taught us that waiting allows us to be guarded from making choices that we will regret later. When God has not given us peace about doing something, the best thing to do is to wait. We trust that God is working something out far better than what we can do in our natural strength.

Wait (H7663): to inspect, examine, wait, hope, wait upon, examined, to hope (for) 

5. In part V of this devotional series, the Psalmist examined God’s power in Creation. In waiting, we need to remind ourselves of God’s ability for creating everything and putting it all together. He also has the power to bring about any change that He desires. Waiting also examines our hearts and purifies our love for God.

For though He was crucified in weakness, yet He lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in Him, but we shall live with Him by the power of God toward you. 2Corinthians 13:4

Ultimately, Jesus is our example of waiting. While He was God’s son, He waited about 30 years before He began His ministry. During Jesus’ ministry, some followed Him and others rejected Him, but He steadfastly continued to preach the truth clothed in grace. When He was falsely accused, persecuted, and hung on the cross, He remained silent. He looked as if He was weak, but He patiently waited for God to accomplish His work through Him. “For the joy that was set before Him, He endured the cross” (Hebrews 12:2). He was the lamb led to the slaughter, but He rose as the Lion of Judah bringing freedom to those who seek Him with all their hearts. If He had not waited on God, the work of salvation would not have been accomplished, but His patience and obedience through the struggle brought us all the resurrection power that lives inside of us! Praise the Lord!

These all wait for You,
That You may give them their food in due season.
What You give them they gather in;
You open Your hand, they are filled with good.
You hide Your face, they are troubled;
You take away their breath, they die and return to their dust.
You send forth Your Spirit, they are created;
And You renew the face of the earth. Psalm 104:27-30

Wait (H7663): to inspect, examine, wait, hope, wait upon, examined, to hope (for) 

The writer of Psalm 104, recounts the acts of the powerful God in Creation.  The writer examines the strength and the character of God while waiting. God almighty is capable of bringing magnificence out of nothing and bringing order out of chaos!

This examination is also important for us while we are waiting. Sometimes the very thing we have been waiting for, looks impossible because we have waited so long for it. In the process of waiting, what we are longing for takes a life of its own, and it looks bigger than any provision that God has blessed with us. It also causes us to question God’s ability and power to give us a breakthrough in that area. However, just as the Psalmist began with Creation, it is important to remind ourselves of the God who has the power to make something out of nothing, to erect the mountains, and to place boundaries around the oceans.

Create in me a clean heart, O God, And renew a steadfast spirit within me.

Do not cast me away from Your presence, And do not take Your Holy Spirit from me.

Restore to me the joy of Your salvation, And uphold me by Your generous Spirit. Psalm 51:10-12

When we remind ourselves of who God is, we become the inspectors and examiners of His character. This process helps us to go back to the basics of our faith and to be grateful for His character and what He has done in our lives. In Psalm 51, David asked God to renew a steadfast spirit in him and to restore the joy of his Salvation. While this Psalm was written after David was confronted about his sin with Bathsheba, it is still applicable to other areas of life as well. If waiting on God causes us to lose the purity of our hearts, we will lose the joy of our salvation. The very thing we are waiting for can become an idol in our lives, and it can make us think that we cannot be happy until we receive what we have been waiting for.

Most of us experienced great joy and peace when we received salvation. Nothing at the moment mattered because we were in love with Jesus. However, overtime, other things cloud our relationship with the Lord, and they seem to become more important to us. Suddenly, we find Christianity as something we do and  put on, but, on the inside, it is a different story. The pain of waiting and the longings of our hearts cause us to lose joy and intimacy we once had with God.

Waiting also examines and inspects what is in our hearts. Waiting can touch the core of our identity. It can cause us to question ourselves, our abilities, and our relationships. Jealousy and envy can arise because others have what you have been waiting so long for.  The enemy also whispers in our ears that there is another way to get what we want and that we don’t have to wait. This is the fire that purifies our hearts, strengthens our faith, and establishes our character. How we respond to it is critical to our spiritual destiny. 

Just as the Psalmist declares in the above passage in Psalm 104, God is the giver of everything to us. We have nowhere to go except Him. People may leave relationships, jobs, or churches for the sake of dissatisfaction with life, but they still can’t get what they want with their own strength. Is it possible that the waiting has made us lose focus of what is really important? We need a restoration and renewal of our relationship with God that is not dependent of when the breakthrough comes. We are dependent on the Lord to move in our lives , and we really have not place to go except to run to Him.

I will wait for You, O You his Strength; For God is my defense.

My God of mercy shall come to meet me; God shall let me see my desire on my enemies. Psalm 59:9-10

Wait (H8104): to keep, guard, observe, give heed, have charge of, keep watch and ward, protect, save life, to hedge about.

The word “wait”  in the above scripture is about being kept. A great benefit of waiting on God is that it protects us from impulsive and bad decisions. The above Psalm is David’s quiet confidence that God would deliver him from his enemies. David declared God’s deliverance and His defense in the midst of the pressure of being chased by Saul. There were moments that David feared for his life and wondered if he can escape from Saul’s hands, but he always reminded himself of God’s mercies and faithfulness. Waiting became a guard that saved him from bad decisions. Waiting hedged him in and helped David not to move in the flesh by eliminating his enemy.

God had already anointed David to be the future king. Now, it was time for David to believe God and trust His timing in bringing forth the prophetic word. It would have been easy for David to  justify killing Saul by calling it self-defense. However, David depended on God to bring forth His purpose and to defend him in the process. Waiting on God prevented David from making a terrible mistake and from killing Saul in his own power. The scripture tells us that David had the opportunity to kill Saul twice, but David did not touch him. Instead he waited for God to deliver him.

How do you handle bad behavior from others? Do you defend yourself before you give an opportunity for God to work on your heart and in the situation? When people gossip about you and talk behind your back do you wait on God to be your defense? Do you wait on the Lord to be delivered from unjust situations?  Some people because of major hurts and disappointments from their past have made a vow that they are not going to allow anyone to treat them unfairly. This stronghold has to be brought captive to the obedience of Christ, or one will continue to struggle with waiting on God to deliver them from a bad situation. 

The truth is that it will never be easy to remain silent and allow for God to fight our battles. It will require faith and self-control to wait on God. If we expect waiting to get easy before we do it, we will never wait for God to defend us! Lack of waiting sets people up for a cycle of strife and self-preservation. Self-preservation destroys trust and brings every form of evil in relationships. If we want to grow as spiritual people, we have to make a decision to believe God in protecting and delivering us from tough situations.

Wait (H1748): in silence, silently 

Jeremiah tells us about God’s compassion, mercies, and faithfulness. Those characteristics are the foundation to waiting on the Lord. Apostle John describes this from another angle as follows:

There is no fear in love; but perfect love casts out fear, because fear involves torment. But he who fears has not been made perfect in love. 1John 4:18

God’s perfect love helps us not to be afraid or tormented. Waiting can make us feel like we will miss out on an opportunity or that we are wasting our lives by waiting. When waiting on God is coupled with confidence in His love, compassion, and mercies, we would not need to be afraid!  When we are able to be confident in God’s character, it calms our hearts, and it helps us to wait on Him patiently!

Jeremiah reminded us that God is our portion. If we wait on God, we would ultimately not lose. What He has for us if far better than anything we can attain in our own strength. God is pleased when we wait on Him, and He rewards those who wait for Him. 

I must admit I haven’t always waited patiently or silently. At times, I have complained about waiting, and at other times, I have been discouraged with waiting.  There have also been moments when I was not sure if I’m waiting on God or God is waiting on me! 

In the above scripture, Jeremiah stated that it is good for people to bear the yoke of waiting in their youth. This is something that our children and the younger generation need very badly. Many of the young people grow up in families who are capable of  providing anything they want the moment they desire it.  They may learn a lot of things, but they don’t learn the skill of waiting.

Waiting is a yoke that is worth bearing. It is important for young people to learn patience and wait for those things they desire. Sometimes they may have to work or save for it before they get it. Some parents may feel cruel to withhold things from their children. However, it is really to the children’s benefit to learn delayed gratification and not get everything they want when they desire it. When we don’t bear the yoke of waiting early in life, we grow up expecting that things should happen in our timing or something is wrong.  Hence, we get disillusioned with life, relationships, careers, ministry, etc.

If you have children dependent on you, are you helping them to learn to wait for things? How well do you wait on God?  Waiting is not easy, but we have to fight the battle by continually reminding ourselves of God’s mercies, compassion, and love towards us.  

Show me Your ways, O Lord;
Teach me Your paths.
Lead me in Your truth and teach me,
For You are the God of my salvation;
On You I wait all the day. Psalm 25:4-5

Wait (H6960): to wait, look for, hope, expect, linger, to collect, bind together, to twist, to bind. 

The word, “wait” in the above scripture is a reminder of Jesus’ words on the Sermon on the Mount.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they shall be filled. Matthew5:6

In the natural, hunger and thirst are some of the basic needs of humanity that has to be met or people cannot function well. We are all committed to nourishing our bodies and ensuring that it does not go hungry or thirsty for too long. Similarly, those who walk with God understand the significance and the importance of being desperately hungry and thirsty for Him. Those who seek God and hunger and thirst for His righteousness, God feeds them and makes them full.  

In the above passage (Psalm 25:4-5), David is declaring his commitment and his desperation for the ways of God. He has no other place to go. He has no other option except to wait on God to show him His ways. David has bound himself to God, and he is not letting go. He is not going anywhere, and he is not quitting. The Lord is the only one with answers, so he will remain in the presence of God and seek Him until He is filled by Him.

In our culture, we have many options in every area of life whether it is grocery stores, restaurants, entertainment, cars, clothes, etc. We don’t get easily desperate for anything. We can always come up with plans B,C, or D if plan A does not work out. Therefore, waiting is not something we have to exercise to the point of desperation. However, if things were different and we only had one place to purchase food or get drink of water, we would deal with life a lot differently. We would have a greater desperation to seek after what we needed.

In truth, the Lord is our only option. The more convinced we become with that fact, the more desperately we will wait to get His insight and direction in life. We would not entertain or exercise other options. This is a test of our spiritual maturity. Are we willing to wait on God because we are convinced that He is the only answer? Or are we going to try to exercise our plan B or C until we hit our head against a wall? The former leads to being filled with the Lord and the latter will cause us to a make U-turn and possibly pay a high price for it! 

Are you desperate to Know God’s ways? Are you willing to wait for Him to show you His way? Do you see Him as your only option or have you come up with alternative plans to meet your needs? 

As children of God, waiting on Him is inevitable for us. If we are committed to walking with the Lord, we need to wait until we get our direction and instruction from Him. The truth is that there is waiting also at the natural level. However, waiting is even more significant at the spiritual level.

The good news is that the scripture has much to say about waiting on God, and we have examples of those who waited well on the Lord and those who did not. As I studied the word “wait”, I found that there several different meanings to this word. In order for us to fully appreciate the depth of “waiting,”  we need to dig a little deeper.

Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Psalm 37:7

Wait Patiently (H2342): to dance, to twist, writhe, to whirl, whirl about, bear, bring forth, to wait anxiously, to be born. 

The above word “wait” is not an easy wait. The scripture tells us that while the waiting is going to be difficult, that God’s people are to wait patiently on the Lord. There is no need to fret but one can rest in the Lord. Jesus was back on the boat resting while the storm was occurring. He must have been confident that He can wait for the storm to pass, but it was His disciples that asked Him to do something.

This kind of waiting is a reminder of a pregnant woman. As much as a mother may get uncomfortable with the extra weight and sleepless nights, she would rather wait and give birth to a full-term baby rather than rush the process and risk the health of the baby. When the time for delivery comes, a pregnant woman knows that the process is not going to be easy. It may take several long hours. She has to learn to take deep breaths and relax her body as she goes through the delivery to bear the baby.

Similarly, God is doing a work in us that cannot be rushed. As much as we would like to do something about our growth and speed up the process, we cannot rush it. Most of us would prefer to mature faster and not have any struggles, but we have to go through the process with God. Our part is to obey him in the areas that He shows us, so we can stay in step with His process. We cannot, through our zeal, do more to make the process go faster.

Interestingly, as I was writing this devotional, I came face to face with a situation that caused upheaval in my soul. I started thinking of a couple of remedies in my mind. I have the choice to either rush to do something to alleviate some of the pain, or I can wait patiently to go through the process to see God’s hand move in the situation. The issue is why is it causing me so much pain!? If I get rid of the pain without allowing God to deal with the root issue, I will be back here again at some point in the future. It is difficult to be still and not do something when we are in pain, but waiting patiently allows us to give room for God to do His beautiful work!

Waiting patiently on the Lord can be frustrating for those of us who are action-oriented. In reality, our frustration shows that there is further work to be done in us to surrender more fully to the process. At the minimum, it is developing the fruit of patience in us. However, I’m sure God is doing more work than we are even aware of at this moment. Waiting and resting seem to be oxymoron. It takes faith, hope, and love to wait and rest in God. We need faith to believe that God is at work. We also have to have hope and confident expectation that He is doing a good work because He loves us and wants the best for us. 

“Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’ Isaiah 58: 6-9

In the above passage, the Lord clearly articulates the kind of fast that pleases Him. First, the Lord declares that He wants people to live free from oppression. Those of us who have experienced oppression of any form understand how painful and unjust it is to be in those environments. Sometimes the oppression is a physical oppression and at other times it is an emotional or mental abuse. Nevertheless, no one likes to live under intimidation and oppression of somebody else.

The Lord expects us not to be oppressive or to lord it over people. Sometimes that comes in the form of expecting people to behave a certain way because of our status, power, or position. Sometimes, we use our privileges to show favor to those who treat us well and ignore/neglect others who are not favorable towards us. Other times, we have high expectations of others that they cannot meet, and we hold it against them. Those kinds of behaviors are oppressive and unjust, and they do not please the Lord. Just as we enjoy our freedom in Christ, we should be in the business of freeing people from our expectations and demands, so they can be free from fear of man and, hopefully, turn to God and do the right thing.

In addition, in Mark 9:29 Jesus explained that some spirits do not come out except through prayer and fasting. This shows that the Lord expects us to loose the bonds of those who are under the oppression of various demonic spirits. God has given us the power, the commission, and the anointing to set people free. Therefore, the purpose of fasting can be to bless others by seeing them freed up from various bondages and oppressing spirits.

Second, the Lord cares about helping those who are poor and have need for food, clothing, and shelter. The Lord expects us to be givers of ourselves and help those who cannot help themselves. The Good Samaritan story emphasized this passage as Jesus explained how we should define neighbors. God cares about every person on the face of the earth. That means that any person who crosses our path, they are our neighbor, and we can try to help them with our resources and abilities. When we have the opportunity to help those in need, they will look to heaven and recognize that they have a heavenly Father who sees their situation and cares about them.

The above scripture explains the kind of fast that pleases God. When we take care of those that God cares about and do it with the right heart, God promises that His light will shine on us. He will also hear people’s prayers and pay attention to their needs. In addition, those who hoped for their own healing and deliverance will receive His touch, and the Lord will heal them. 

As the last three devotionals illustrate, there is more to fasting than just abstaining from food. We should prepare our hearts and be open to what God is doing in our lives as well as those around us. This allows us to be ready to move into action and be God’s hands and feet wherever we are and whatever we are doing. 

What does God say about fasting? There are many scriptures in this regard, and the book of Matthew tells us Jesus’ thoughts on fasting. Matthew was a Jewish tax collector, and the gospel of Matthew was written to Jewish audience who understood fasting. Jesus knew that the religious zealots thought highly of themselves for their fasting habits. However, He also knew that their fast was for appearance sake to win the approval of people rather than pleasing God.

The above scripture is telling us that we should fast without fanfare and live life as normal as possible. Practically speaking, it’s a good idea to keep our fasting days less eventful and try not to make plans with others that require eating and drinking. We should make the effort not to discuss our fast with others. The Lord expects us to fast quietly and not make a show of it. If we want to impress others or win the approval of others, then we have decided having the favor of man and their approval is more important than God’s reward of intimacy and blessing. 

Make fasting something special between you and the Lord rather than advertising it to others. This is especially important when our intent in mentioning it is to prove something. We should not feel pressured to fast, but it should come out of our heart to seek the Lord. 

I will continue with this subject in the next devotional.