Do You Wait Well?

Waiting.  Just the mention of the word can make many of us cringe.  Or, at least, sigh deeply.  Even when – or perhaps especially when – we have the head knowledge for the value of waiting and God’s promises for those who will wait (and will wait well), the actual waiting can still be so hard.  We rehearse the verses and know the truth but,  it can still be difficult for our head to impact our heart.  We can easily feel as if we are waiting for something that will never happen.  Feeling that way does not mean we are immature Christians or even that our faith is small.  It can mean those things but it may be that we are simply human.  And humans need reminders.  We need reassurance and encouragement.

I have been in a season of waiting.  The waiting is taking longer than I expected.  And it has been necessary to remember not only why but also just how often God finds waiting to be necessary for us.  I thought I would share some bullet thoughts here.  Short and simple – and maybe easier to apply to your situation.  Perhaps you need a reminder today.  And, if not today, you just might one day soon.

Waiting has been defined as the willingness to be still when nothing seems to be happening.  Oh but this one is hard for me.  I am a fixer.  Or, at least, I perceive myself as a fixer.  But, how often, do I simply complicate things or even get in God’s way of working?  If I am going to wait well, I must be willing to be still.  Not to step in.  Not try and manipulate and/or “move things along.”  I’ve typically considered myself good at being still.  I’m not over-scheduled or going in ten directions at once.  But an unhurried life is not necessarily the same as being still.  I can think through/solve/overthink/complicate and more right from my couch!  Being still is waiting while trusting.  It is key to waiting well.

Waiting well also must be done quietly, or without complaining (something else that I can simply do internally…so that I appear to be waiting well on the outside but God knows otherwise), and expectantly.  Once I have asked God for an answer, for guidance or clear direction, I need to expect Him to answer.  Not simply “hope” He will come through.  The answer will, no doubt, come at His right time but He will answer.

What are some of the reasons for waiting?

*so we don’t get ahead of God.  To have clear direction even when the right answer seems obvious

*so we can sure of His timing.  Even the right thing at the wrong time becomes the wrong thing

*so that He might sift through our motives, strengthen our faith or stretch us in any number of ways

*to allow Him to prepare us – mentally, emotionally, spiritually – for what might be ahead

These are just a few.  Even as you wait, ask God wait He would have you to learn during the waiting.  He delights to answer those humble prayers.  I read a Charles Stanley quote that said:  Our willingness to wait reveals the value we place on what we are waiting for.  What we value is God’s will.  God’s working in us, through us, and for us.  Not necessarily the answer to the request.  If that is true, I think we will find waiting much easier.  Be encouraged to wait well.  Ask others to help you wait, or to wait alongside you.  Rehearse scripture.  Find one or two verses that remind you to wait well and then cling to them.  Meditate on them and use them when your faith begins to falter.

“Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him, fret not thyself…..” Psalm 37:7a

“I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry.  Psalm 40:1

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”  Isaiah 40:31

“My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.”  Psalm 62:5