It seems that during this time of year, I do a lot of waiting. I wait for impending storms; I wait in expectation of weather changing to extreme cold or for it to warm up! I don’t like the extreme cold temperatures that make it hard to heat our house but neither do I like the warm unseasonable temperatures that make the snow melt and turn to ice or sloppy roads and yards. I just want perfect seasonable weather! I even like a good snowstorm and wait to see if predictions will come true! Sometimes I wait to see if this winter will give me a nice blizzard, to watch—from inside my house!
Our cats wait for us! They wait, mostly patiently, for me to get up in the morning so they can be let outside. One of our kitties seems to know when the clock says 5am! He has figured out that I might be ready to get out of bed then. He isn’t hesitant to wait on the bed for me to stir. He wants his ears rubbed and some good ole back scratching. Then he rushes down the stairs to wait for me to come and let them outside. But later they wait, almost always patiently, to be able to come back inside. One of our kitties is always thankful to have the door open in invitation. He never fails to say thank you with a mrrrrr-ow. It has a thankful note in it. Of course their wanting to come inside is for food!! But then there is more waiting for them! They have to wait for one of us to add food to their bowls. They know that we will feed them as one of the last things we do in the evening. They know it will always include special kitty treats. And so they wait again. But this time it isn’t so patiently. If we don’t feed them soon enough, according to them, then they start to fight with each other. It is like they blame each other for the absence and non on time treats! I have seen cows that wait. They sometimes come home from the pasture and stand waiting—waiting for the farmer to come and relieve them of their milk. They know where relief is available. And so, they too, wait. When I was young, we had a large number of farm cats. They also waited for milking time. They understood that only when the cows were in the barn would their large pan have milk placed in it and they could all gather around. They were very patient kitties. Farmers are patient, too. They know that no amount of impatience will change the weather. Impatient or not, they have to wait on the weather. Planting time and harvest and the growing to maturity are times of waiting for the time to be right. Farmers cannot have things happen immediately for the measurable results. They must wait—wait for seeds to sprout, wait for them to grow and wait, hoping that nature disasters don’t fall, wait and hope that all goes well with equipment, wait while anticipating a harvest but waiting to learn if it is bumper or poor. They are waiting patiently for yield from their labors.
I am a waiter, too! Not the kind of waiter that serves you your food!! One of my important waiting times is when I know that one of our sons is coming home—and with his family! There are many things I want to do before they come but during my doings, I am also eagerly waiting. The time of waiting takes too long, in my opinion. So, perhaps I am not a patient waiter. We wait for doctor appointments, especially if we are in pain. But sometimes doctors are delayed and we get impatient for their arrival to see us. I waited for relief from my pain. I was waiting for one surgery only to be diagnosed with a need for another surgery that superseded the first. It was hard to endure more pain waiting for the postponed surgery to actually happen. It was hard to do the waiting patiently.
Many kids also wait! They wait for the school bus to come to take them to school. I have those memories. Sometimes in the winter, the wait was long. The winter weather would cause delays. We were never unhappy waiting for those delays. At the end of the school year, kids anxiously wait for the last day of school! Kids wait and wait and wait for things like birthdays and Christmas. Mostly they are waiting for gifts! Gifts of surprise and gifts of need and gifts of I want……! Those days of waiting seem endless for the child.
Waiting is an interesting concept. I recently read a verse in the Bible about waiting. Perhaps you remember it and even have it memorized. Psalms 37:7 says, “Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” This verse encourages me to trust God, be silent and patient in His presence, and not become agitated or envious when wicked people seem to succeed in their evil plans, as God promises justice and reward for the righteous in due time. It’s about a calm surrender, recognizing God’s sovereignty, and waiting for His righteous action rather than getting angry or fearful.
“Be still/Rest in the LORD” means to find quietness, submit to God’s will, and trust His providence, not being passive but resting in His power.
“Wait patiently for him” is an active waiting, expecting God to act on your behalf.
“Fret not” / “Do not be upset” means don’t get angry or envious at the prosperity of evildoers; their success is temporary. I often fail at this kind of waiting. I sometimes am impatient with waiting for God to take care of it.
Many wait for Christmas. The Christmas season reminds us that Mary was waiting. She was waiting for her promised baby to come. The angel had come to her and told her that she had been chosen to be the mother of the most longed for person ever known to the world. I cannot imagine the thoughts that must have been with her every moment of every day and even at night. Only in the fact that she was trusting in the Message from Heaven could she have endured the time of waiting.
Waiting on God—”Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 Most of us, if we’re prepared to be honest, would say an emphatic “No!” if we were asked if we enjoy waiting. We need only to sit and wait for the stop light to change or for somebody to back out of a parking space to be reminded of how impatient we really are. Usually, we desire that our needs be met according to our wishes and timetable. And yet this lack of patience poses a major problem for the Christian—because if we find it difficult to wait, we’re going to find it very difficult to walk by faith.
The Bible says faith is demonstrated as men and women who wait on the promises of God. God’s “precious and very great promises” (2 Peter 1:4) are seldom given with any kind of time guarantee and this makes all the difference in the world. Most of us can muster up the ability to wait if we know that we only have to wait until next Friday, or until five o’clock, or whenever. But that is not waiting in faith. Instead, Scripture exhorts us to wait not on a specific time but on the faithfulness of the One who promises—God Himself.
If we are in need of strength—strength to endure illness, to resist temptation, to show kindness to a challenging acquaintance—and we go to the Scriptures for encouragement, we will discover that “they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31). At the early beginnings of the church, the word of Christ to the disciples was that they should wait in Jerusalem “for the promise of the Father” (Acts 1:4). We are called to wait “for our blessed hope, the appearing of the glory of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13). The Bible tells us to wait, to watch, to pray, to look, and to be ready, not with a knowledge of the timeframe but with the knowledge that God is faithful.
We have our character tested in a doctor’s waiting room and we have it also tested in faith’s waiting room. Genuine faith involves waiting, and it requires that we don’t wait on our circumstances but on our God, who sees His people and who “acts for those who wait for him” (Isaiah 64:4). That can build your patience, both for the waiting times every day and as we wait for the Lord to return and bring you the glories of eternal life.
Waiting is the hardest part. When you’re waiting for something, God’s perfect timing can often feel like a torture device or an empty phrase people say to when they don’t know what else to say. Just because we know God has perfect timing doesn’t make it easier to wait for it. In times of waiting, it’s important for me to remember that the Lord’s plans for me have been set since “before the beginning of time.” God is not surprised at how long things are taking. And it’s not a mistake that things aren’t happening as quickly as I’d like. God’s plans are perfect, because He is perfect. “As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the LORD is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.” (Psalm 18:30). Often, I, you too, think we know what’s best, and if the Lord would just hurry up and do what I want, this would all be easier. But what if in my effort to rush through the meantime, I’m missing out on something greater than the thing I was waiting for? Waiting has its rewards. As we persevere through seasons of waiting, our faith becomes mature and complete, not lacking anything. “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds,because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” (James 1:2-4).
The best questions we should ask when we’re waiting are the ones that help us understand what God wants to show us in the waiting time: Am I spending time listening to God and for God? Am I spending time with Him in His Word? What is the Lord teaching me during this phase of my life? What can I do to be ready for God to move? Are you waiting for something? I want to use waiting wisely while the Lord finishes His perfect work.
Wait. One simple word. Over a year ago I received some disappointing news. I was frustrated, angry, sad… Everything in me wanted to argue, fight, and to change the situation. But the word was WAIT. I knew that I should simply trust the doctors and Him. There was nothing I could have predicted or expected. I had done nothing to affect the situation. Yet the timing changed before my eyes. I was reminded of that single word from God: Wait.
Wisdom is found in the wait. If I rush into a situation, or use my intuition, or gut instinct to sort things out in my favor, I discover I missed details or insights. I remember that once I was awake night after night figuring out how I thought that our life should look next after losing a job. I should have just waited on God to show us what is next. I remember the story of Jesus waiting—waiting to go to Bethany when His friend Lazarus died. His friends Martha and Mary did not understand. But the very simple reason is that he chose to wait. He took a breath. He took a moment. And took 4 days! And wisdom was found in that moment… wisdom is found in the wait. He was able to show them that death was only a sleep.
If you want wisdom… you need to learn to wait. Our character transformation happens in the wait. When the Israelites left Egypt, they thought they’d be at the Promised Land in about 3 weeks. It took them 40 years. For 40 years they experienced the frustration of waiting, wondering why the Lord was taking so long to fulfil his promise to them. What ended up happening though, was that the Lord used the time to recreate them into a new nation that would bear his name and character. That couldn’t happen in 3 weeks. It needed years, needed a generation. God took them out of Egypt, but the transformation wouldn’t be complete until Egypt was also out of them. If there’s a period where it appears God is not up to much… it will absolutely be an opportunity for character growth, muscle strengthening, developing obedience, learning endurance, all developed in the waiting times. Waiting equips. Waiting strengthens, makes me stronger. And waiting helps solidify the importance of our values, the very values that make us who we are. There is a totally different perspective from God’s view. The view of an eagle isn’t distracted by what’s happening on the ground. It sees the big picture. It sees for miles. It sees the large and the small things, but can see how everything fits together within the scene. The view from the ground is only of what’s visible in front of us, but the view from above puts it all in perspective. God’s view is a whole lot wider than my view. Our perspectives change in our wait. We’re encouraged to ‘let go and let God’. That’s incredibly difficult when I feel like there’s a solution I could manipulate to bring about desirable results—the results that I want. We conjure up images of impatience, boredom, passivity, and apathy if we are waiting… but when you’re waiting for the Lord, there could be nothing further from the truth. Rather, waiting for the Lord requires patience, resilience, courage, resistance, self-control, and intentionality.
When we develop and exercise our ‘wait’ muscles, we to see far greater things done by a God who requires our wait so he can show us his power and glory in action, at the right time. Waiting for the Lord increases our flexibility, strength, and courage. Using the wait to become more connected to, and more reliant on him actually reduces anxiety, and builds our confidence as we realize how small and powerless we are, yet how vast and powerful He is. Winter is a time of waiting. It’s when trees are naked and exposed, their leaves gone, and they look dead. But it’s only because of that time of seeming lifelessness, exposure and waiting, that blossoms can form and new spring life becomes all the more sweet and glorious. It’s so tempting to jump into situations with all our knowledge and logic. But… when we wait for the Lord to answer – there’s so much less trouble. It’s easier“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act.” God has got this. God has got you. It’s in the waiting and trusting and resting that we see his hand at work, and the fulness of our transformation – our salvation – becomes reality.
The habit of waiting builds within us an understanding of the goodness of God, and an expectation of good things to come when we trust in him. But ] there is also a constant sense of ‘what if?’ What if I wait and things don’t work out? What if I wait but prayers aren’t answered? What if I wait and the storm is too big to soar above? What if… What if…? What if…? The reality is there will be seasons of wait that don’t work out the way we’d hoped. You can still trust in his goodness, even when you can’t see or feel it.
Waiting is a good thing for me. It teaches me so much about myself, and about our God. It opens the opportunity for God to reach us, and for us to notice him. It stills our souls, opens our hearts, and activates our spiritual ears. And for those reasons alone, I’m glad it’s never fully complete in this lifetime, ‘cuz I need all the help I can get. Mary and many others were waiting for their Messiah to come for the first time. I am definitely waiting for our Messiah to come the second time with all His glory! I will try to be patient for His timing!
Waiting is a good thing!!!