Tag Archives: waiting

Got hope?

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I don’t think anyone would argue with me when I say the inhabitants of this world are weary and in need of hope. All throughout the history of mankind it has been that way since the very beginning when people decided to pick their way over God’s way and God let them.

I believe there is still hope to be had. And that’s not just me being optimistic. (although I am pretty optimistic and can be annoyingly so)

Psalms 130: 6 says, “I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.” I have long thought that verse meant that the watchmen were tired and eager for their shift to end, so they were watching for the sun to finally peek it’s welcome glowing face over the horizon so they could clock out and go home. Recently I heard another perspective: they watch for the sun to rise because every day the sun rises. They are watching and waiting for it to happen because they know it’s going to happen. They can count on it.

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Ready to go

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I’m sitting on my suitcase, lovingly packed, ready for the trip, eager to go.  I can just see the open road in my mind and hear it beckoning me.  I’m waiting for Papa first, though.  I can’t go without Him, especially since He’s the driver, navigator, and planner.  Besides, I’d much rather travel with Him than alone.  No question about that.

I know it’s going to be a great trip, but also that there will be bumps along the way.  To expect a trip without any slip-ups, accidents or near-mishaps, or discouraging moments would be naive and unrealistic.  I know that if I go with Papa, though, I’ll be fine one way or another.  He can handle anything and promised He would stay with me the whole way.  I believe Him.

“I’m waiting, Papa!  Are you ready?  Is it time?”  I stand up bouncing on my heels looking out the open door when I hear his footsteps behind me.  “Okay, let’s go!” His happy voice rings out.  He reaches for my hand and squeezes it tight.  I grab my bag with my other hand and look up at Him with a big smile as we head outside.

The LORD said, ” I will go with you and give you peace.”
Then Moses replied, ” If you aren’t going with us, please don’t make us leave this place.  Exodus 33:14-15 CEV

Wait patiently for the Lord.  Psalm 27:14  NLT

 

Worth the Wait

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Why is it so hard to wait?  Is it because it’s hard for us to stop doing things and just be still?  It is because we’re not in control and have to rely on someone else to respond, do something or fulfill a request?  What are we in a hurry to do or where are we in a rush to go?

I’m a pretty patient person in most circumstances, but it’s still sometimes hard for me to wait.  I got lots of practice in the last few years and don’t want to forget the lessons I learned – lessons about perseverance, trust, sacrifices of praise, and surrender.

The Bible has much to say about waiting on God and all the good that can result.  Here are just some of the blessings that come from waiting on God:

  • Help – Psalm 40:1
  • Rescue – Psalm 59:9
  • Victory – Psalm 62:1
  • Answers – Psalm 38:9
  • God will work things out for those who wait – Isaiah 64:4
  • Fresh, renewed strength – Isaiah 40:31
  • Receive what God has promised – Hebrews 6:15, Romans 15:4
  • Justice – Job 35:14
  • Reward – Luke 12:37
  • Hope – Romans 8:25
  • God is good to those who wait – Lamentations 3:25-26
  • Awareness of God’s presence – Psalm 37:7

There are plenty of things we can do while we wait:  thank God for things and people and more, praise Him, talk about Him, read His word, think about Him, and sometimes just be completely quiet, letting our minds and hearts be at peace.

I like these lyrics from a song by Shane Barnard:

i will run when i cannot walk
i will sing when there is no song
i will pray when there is no prayer
i will listen when i cannot hear

sitting in the waiting room of silence
waiting for that still soft voice i know
offering my words up to the rooftop to Your heart
trusting that this closet’s where You are

Lord i know if i change my mind
You will change my heart in time
Sovereign Lord this time’s from You
so i sit in the waiting room of silence
cause its all about You

Waiting is difficult because we are impatient people.  We want results and we want them now.  I find I even have this mentality sometimes when I sit down to have quiet time with God.  I want to hear him right away, I want a feeling or sensation of His presence and I forget that sometimes I just need to be patient.  I find that it is always worth the wait.

Faith Hero #1: Joseph

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The story of Joseph has been one of my favorites for a long time, but especially lately.  If you are lacking faith or need encouragement about having to wait on God, dealing with the unfairness of life sometimes, trusting even when it seems God has left, even reconciling family relationships, you should read his story (Genesis 37-50).

I read his story again this morning and was moved several times to tears.  As I read, I tried to imagine his emotions, the surroundings, the events and life that happened in between the lines of Genesis.   Having heard the story so many times as I grew up, I read it in The Message version today.  I really took my time to think as I followed him from being born to a joyful and relieved mother and father who had waited a long time for his arrival, to growing strong and handsome as the favored son, to being betrayed and disposed of by jealous brothers, to success then unjust imprisonment, to being forgotten and waiting years for change, to success again and eventually restoration of his relationship with his family.

Can you hear his voice yelling up to his brothers, who sat calmly by eating their dinner, as he yelled for them to pull him up out of the cistern?  Continue reading →

Don’t bother me, I’m busy waiting

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John preached about waiting this past Sunday.  It was a good, encouraging message and full of truth.  Why is it that some days it’s relatively easy to wait and trust that God is doing something even though I can’t see anything happening and other days, like today, the waiting becomes a heavy weight pressing down on my heart, squeezing out tears?

I’ve blogged about waiting many times, encouraged others about it.  Today I’m not feeling it.  I confessed to God and He listened….at least it seemed like He did.  It seems in long, drawn-out times of waiting trusting is a monumental feat, like running uphill at the end of your workout, legs becoming like lead and heart pounding as if it would jump out and run down the street by itself.

Waiting_____by_angelreichIn my waiting, I did hear God caution me, “Don’t get too focused on yourself or start feeling sorry for yourself.”  I don’t want to do that.  I do have to be honest with Him about the way I feel.  Lunch with my hubby, who was also a bit down today, was a good idea.  We visited about other things and enjoyed a hot lunch on a chilly, windy day.  Getting a few messages from loving Christian friends saying they understand and are praying for us definitely helped.  Amazing how those small things make such a big difference.  I guess you could say they are emotional endorphins that help me keep going through the fatigue.  A call from my oldest daughter who was happily leaving a really good job interview lifted my spirits.  When she’s feeling especially good or loving towards me she often calls me “Momma.”  As she said goodbye, she also said “I love you, Momma.”  Oh my.  My heart just filled up with love.  Thank you, God.  Such little things that do such wonders for me.  You are there, aren’t You?

Forgive my cynicism.  It seems to be trying to creep up and cover me more and more these days as the time drags on and we wait for answers in so many areas of our life.  I absolutely love the book of Psalms in the Bible.  It has to be my favorite.  I think the heart God gave me to worship him is drawn to the honesty found in its short chapters.  If David was a man after God’s own heart and he got away with such blatant honesty, then it must be okay for me too!  I found this verse today and don’t remember reading it before, even though I’ve read through all the Psalms a number of times:

“I am worn out waiting for your rescue, but I have put my hope in your word. My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me?” Psalm 119:81-82 NLT

I could so easily pray that prayer today.  God I am worn out waiting!  I am tired and sad.  I am frustrated!   I realize that I’ve still been holding onto and hoping in the outcomes I come up with myself, the possibilities that I think are good endings.  I can see that to truly hope ONLY in You, I have to let go of ALL of that.  You’ve brought me to a new level of surrender and it’s hard, Papa.  My hope truly is ONLY in You.  I have nothing else.  You are my sustainer, my Father, my friend, my healer, my guide.  I trust You.  I just need you to hold me up as each step right now takes great effort.

My hope is in You.  You are worthy of praise.  I’m so eager for You to do something I can testify about.  My eyes are straining to see You keep your promises to me, O God!  When?!  Can You hear me?

Get busy and wait

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I’m becoming a waiting pro.  I’ve had much experience, especially in the last 3 years of my life: waiting on answers to prayers, waiting on direction, waiting to become more like Jesus (I’m pretty sure that’s gonna last my whole life), waiting to see the plans God has for my daughters.  Waiting is a big part of everyday life anyway:  waiting at the doctor’s office, standing in line at the grocery, in traffic, on friends who are meeting us for lunch or coffee, for fun holiday family get-togethers, for vacations, on test results, for news from a job interview, for a newborn baby to arrive…it goes on and on.

Since it is such a part of life why do I become irritated when I have to wait?  I think partly because it is a time when I have no control over the situation or the outcome.  I feel I should be doing something to help the process along, whatever that may be.  There are many things I can’t make happen any quicker than they are already happening.  It is out of my hands.

I got to see first-hand the beginnings of a house being built on Extreme Makeover Home Edition this week.  Continue reading →