Waiting for What
I have always felt God’s presence very clearly when He is leading me to do something. So, when I feel trepidatious after prayer, not knowing what to do or say next, I am nervous. I wonder, now what? Is it me? Have I lost the ability to perceive His presence? Or am I supposed to wait on Him to make things clear? Ahhhh, that seems to make the most sense. So what exactly am I waiting for? And for how long (an echo of the familiar “Are we there yet?”)?
By the Cambridge Dictionary’s definition, waiting is “to allow time to go by, especially while staying in one place without doing very much, until someone comes, until something that you are expecting happens or until you can do something.” I have never been one to stay in one place and I have never been one to not do much so waiting is almost painful. It seems to go against the go-getter personality God designed in me. So why would God ask me to wait for Him? Or why would He seem silent or non-communicative when there’s a situation that needs a response? If you look back at my questions in paragraph one, they are mostly focused on me. Therefore, one reason God may make me wait is to refocus my attention on Him and take it off of myself.
In Psalm 27:14, the psalmist sings, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord.” Here, waiting is equated with building strength and courage. By waiting, I am standing on the promises of God and what I know of HIs character (2 Peter 3:9, Hebrews 13:8, Psalm 18:30, Isaiah 46:10). I am not moving without His guidance but my expectation is that He is present and will guide me when it is time.
Another verse that focuses on waiting for the Lord is Habukkuk 2:3. “For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.” The word hasten is interesting here. While that indicates an acceleration or rushing, the next part of the verse says it may seem slow. My understanding of this seeming contradiction is that while in our human life, mind and experience, God’s timing seems slow just because it doesn’t come when we want it. This verse is a reminder that God’s timing is always right, and always advancing in a God-chosen pace. It’s right on time.
Pray with me that we would wait faithfully, and in prayer. We will build our hope, strength and courage – in addition, we will be blessed with the excitement of seeing God’s timing fulfilled exactly when and how it should be fulfilled. Faith in Christ is an adventure and all adventures require periods of waiting before we can say, “Yes” to “Are we there yet?”.
