God provides the wind, Man must raise the sail.”
— Augustine of Hippo
There are times when it is perfectly appropriate to say, “I’m waiting on God.”
It sounds spiritual, as if to do anything would be out of God’s will and we do not want to interfere with his plans and purposes.
But, there are also times when it is perfectly appropriate for God to say, “I’m waiting on you.”
Maybe more times for the latter than for the former.
If we are not careful, we can live in a spiritual paralysis of waiting for God to do something he has already clearly said is our responsibility. That is why we read the Bible. It has God’s revealed will. That is why we walk in community with other believers. We have God’s lived-out purpose.
God has said, “Go into all the world.” We say, “I am waiting for him to tell me what to do.”
God has said, “The harvest is ripe everywhere.” We say, “I am waiting for him to tell me where.”
God has said, “The days are short.” We say, “I am waiting for him to tell me when.”
We are waiting for God to speak in response to our question. But, God has already spoken first. The sailer does not raise the sail to cause the wind. The wind is already there.
We just need to raise the sail.
