Do you find it hard to wait? If you are like most of us, you dislike waiting in line to be served, waiting at traffic lights, waiting in front of the microwave as lunch twirls around inside bombarded by heating waves, waiting for the tax refund….Yet, Scripture tell us we should wait.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14 NIV
In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly. Psalm 5:3 NIV
I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. Psalm 130:6 NIV
Many of us think waiting is inaction, doing nothing. But that is not true. Helen Lescheid, a devotional writer I follow, said this: “Waiting on God is not the same as doing nothing. The truth is, waiting requires tremendous faith and focus ”
Waiting means letting go of our control and our timing. It is to acknowledge that we cannot accomplish it on our own. We need assistance, be it the clerk at the DMV to approve our forms, the snarled rush hour traffic all wanting to enter the same intersection, our food to heat in a few minutes, or God to move in our lives. Life is about waiting. We may as well embrace it.
But there are things we can “do” while we wait. The time passes better for the one who p-r-a-y-s.
1.Pray. As you physically wait in a line, pray for those folks God brings to mind. Pray for those who are waiting with you, such as the woman with the unruly kids tugging on her pant leg. Pray for the old man bent over with a smoker’s cough. Pray for the young man who is dressed like a gang member. And as you wait on God to move in your life, pray for patience, strength to endure the in-between time, and wisdom to see the reasons for the waiting.
2. Reflect. Think on the past blessings in your life and praise God for them. Think about the outcomes when you patiently waited before and how the outcome was better for the effort.
3.Ask. If you get a tightness in your gut or begin to tap your foot, ask for peace and patience to envelop you. Ask for the butterflies to settle and your pulse to slow. Ask God to give you a sign that waiting is the correct thing to do.
4. Yield. Let go and let God. Sounds trite, but it can be so hard to pry your fingers from the situation and lay your hand in your lap, or fold them in prayer. Repeat to yourself the words of the Lord’s prayer: Thy will be done, on earth as it is in Heaven.
5.Smile. Be friendly, even if everyone else is grumpy. Talk with the person ahead or behind you and be a witness to the peace that passes all understanding. Smiles are contagious. Brighten everyone else’s day and yours will brighten as well. And alone in your prayer corner, smile to God as you pray. Let Him fill you with joy.
..but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength,
they shall mount up with wings like eagles,
they shall run and not be weary,
they shall walk and not faint.. Isaiah 40:31 RSV
I had the opportunity to do just this last week while waiting for a service man at my soon-to-be-put-on-the-market house. With the house completely vacant, there was nothing to do but wait. I tried praying but realize I need more practice. I think I failed that opportunity.
Good post, Julie.
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We live in a society wanting instant gratification. We are guilty of praying that God will give us patience but we want it right now. I love the scripture in Isaiah and I am learning to wait on the Lord.
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Great Advice Julie!
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Thanks for this, Julie. Waiting has never been my forte. In these days of information and device overload there is always something else to do while we are waiting for the first thing, but that does not really solve our problems of noisiness and selfishness, does it? Today I had to wait 30 minutes to get a prescription filled. All I could think of was what else I could do while I was waiting. Maybe God just wanted me to be still in the waiting room!
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Yep…or pray. But praying should begin and end with stillness..a discipline I’m still trying to master.
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Once again, dear friend, you’ve gone to getting personal. 🙂 I always need to hear WAIT! The last fifteen years I am learning God said “stand firm.” He didn’t say charge. Once again through your wise words and His Word I’m reminded He said wait on Him. Taking pencil and inscribing this on my eyelids.
DiAne
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Thanks DiAne. I write for myself as well, and had to scrunch in my toes as God gave me the words.
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