Pastor Mark Bethea told students at the University of Mobile the goal from the morning chapel service was to discuss, “How do we wait well in a culture that seeks to microwave everything it possibly can?” Bethea, senior pastor of the First Baptist Church Montgomery, shared his message out Psalm 37:1–7.
“When I first came to FBC Montgomery, one of my first assignments was to do a Bible study at the church for young professionals — those who had just graduated college, had their first jobs and were trying to figure out their way after college,” Bethea noted during the Feb. 19 service. “Week after week, no matter what age or stage, one of my favorite questions was to simply ask, ‘What has the Lord been teaching you lately?’ From that question you get a lot of incredible responses, but often times in that young professional setting, the number one response week after week was patience, being tired of waiting.
Simultaneously to teaching this Bible study, he also taught at a place called Oak Grove Retirement Facility where many church members live in this little retirement community. He would ask the same question.
“You know what they responded? They said the Lord was still teaching them patience. I looked at them like, ‘What in the world are you waiting on?’ It’s the same struggle for believers of all ages to be patient and wait upon the Lord.”
Bethea told students that we haven’t gotten better at waiting. “Our culture has only made it harder to wait on simple things,” he noted. “If we can’t wait on a hamburger from McDonald’s very well, then how are we going to wait on the Lord to fulfill His promises in our lives?”
3 ways to ‘wait well’
Bethea shared three points to help students understand how they should “wait well in a world that microwaves everything.”
The first point that Bethea addressed was to “wait well in full submission to the will, the way and the Word of the Lord.”
“We delight in Him even when the details are not delightful,” Bethea said while reminding students about the story of Joseph in the Old Testament. “For 20 years, Joseph was patiently content and followed the Lord wherever He took him even if he was falsely accused or imprisoned. When we go back to reflect on and recognize how we are going to wait well, we don’t wait well if we don’t first and foremost delight and commit our ways to the Lord.”
The second point Bethea shared with students was that “if we are going to wait well on the Lord it is in the midst of community” as he read from Galatians 6:7–10.
“The local church is one of the greatest protective agents against out-of-control flesh in our lives, but it also protects against out-of-control weariness in waiting,” Bethea noted. “The local church is where you are encouraged and reminded of the Scriptural truth to fix your eyes upon the Lord while you wait on Him. A farmer knows when he plants seeds into the ground, he can expect to see fruit in a defined period of time, but spiritually we are called sometimes to sow seeds of the gospel and to endure hard and difficult things. Sometimes you won’t see fruit from that for a day, a week, a month, a year or for several years.
The third point that Bethea addressed was reminding students that “waiting well is not an excuse for inaction.”
“When we wait well, waiting upon the Lord is not an excuse to be inactive in the world around us,” Bethea said. “Many of you know the story of William Carey. Carey is called the father of modern missions. He was sent out in 1793 to India, and he felt called by God to share the gospel message there. Year after year, he did not see a single convert. I want you to imagine writing a missionary letter back home for six years having to say, ‘We didn’t see anybody coming to faith in Jesus.’ Can you imagine writing that letter back home to your supporters? For seven years, William Carey labored knowing full well that God was at work. In fact, he wrote in his journal one day, ‘I feel as a farmer does about his crops. Sometimes I think the seed is springing and thus I hope … but my hopes are gone and only weeds appear. Yet I still hope in God.’ In the midst of translation issues, language barriers, persecution from the government and no foreseeable results, William Carey said, ‘Yet I will still hope in God. I will go forth in strength and make mention of His righteousness…’
In December of 1800, seven years after William Carey touched down in India, Bethea noted, he baptized his first Hindu convert — and many say that first convert was the beginning of the first missionary work happening in India that spread like wildfire and is still going on to this day.
“Can you imagine if William Carey gave up after his sixth year?” he asked. “Can you imagine if we were to give up too early?
“If you are feeling anxious or impatient, I would encourage you to read James 5 and be reminded to be patient and establish your hearts for the coming of the Lord. We wait well by establishing our hearts on the Lord, by daily being in His Word, daily submitting to His will and daily following Him.”
Bethea shared the “best piece of advice” he’s heard regarding waiting on the Lord.
“Take the next right step of obedience that God brings you to, whatever it looks like,” he said. “Every day, and in every way, choose to take the next right step of obedience. Even when the details are not delightful, still delight in the Lord.”
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