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“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” – Psalm 27:14
“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
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.” – Psalm 130:5
To me, there’s nothing worse than waiting. I’ve always agreed that patience is a virtue—just one that I don’t have.
*Sigh*
With our busy lives, we don’t like any kind of waiting: waiting in line, waiting at the doctor’s office, waiting for an answer, waiting for a grade. Waiting disrupts our timelines; we need to move on to the next thing, but sometimes we can’t until we’ve finished the first. And we can’t finish the first because we have to WAIT on something or someone.
When we’re young, we can’t wait to get older. When we move out, we can’t wait to get a house (that apartment just won’t do anymore!). When we start dating, we can’t wait to get married. And on and on and on.
In addition, we’re worriers, so when things don’t happen right when we want them to, there’s all this extra time to—you got it—worry.
But God tells us to wait for Him.
It’s easy to wonder why—other than torturing us—God would ask us to wait for His guiding, His timing. But God is loving and He wants the best for us. And sometimes that means waiting.
Because sometimes He wants to teach us humility—a reminder that He’s in control.
Sometimes He wants to teach us trust—a reminder that He’s got our best in mind.
And sometimes, He wants to show us that His plan is greater than anything we could have dreamed up.
And those things are worth waiting for.
Waiting is hard. It can be brutal. So all we can do, if we want to keep any amount of sanity, is lay our dreams at God’s feet. To strip ourselves of pride and worry and tell God we trust Him to guide and direct our lives.
Because in the end, it should be God we are living for anyway. It should be God I’m writing for. I want so badly to finish my novel NOW, to find an agent NOW, to get published NOW.
But if he wants to teach me patience, trust, and humility in the process, shouldn’t I be willing to learn it?
Shouldn’t I be willing to wait on the Lord, to be strong and take heart and wait on the Lord?
Your Turn: Have you ever had to wait for something you really wanted? How did God use that time of waiting to teach you something?
I can SOOO relate to your post. God has been talking to me about waiting a great deal lately. He has been showing me that I am not as ready as I like to think I am to find an agent and get published. The waiting can be difficult, but I am learning to trust and wait in peace. I pray the same for you. We both know God's timing is perfect but sometimes that doesn't make the wait any easier.
Good post. Love the scriptures, The one from Isaiah is the one God keeps speaking to my heart.
I know what you mean, TC. Sometimes we think we know what's best, but God always does. If we let ourselves trust Him to lead us, then we can't go wrong, and we'll "walk and not grow faint." Praying this for you today!
Thank you for the prayers, much appreciated.
Funny, Lindsay, Patience has been a theme for me this week. My Bible reading had verses about waiting two days in a row. Now your post. Okay, Lord, I'm listening. 🙂
It's funny how God has to sometimes drill things into us, isn't it? Something comes up once, we think we're free to ignore it. Twice, it's coincidence. Three times…ah, there's the rub. It would be really great if your pastor spoke about it on Sunday too, huh?
Or is 4 times just a conspiracy? 😉
Oh yes. I had to wait 11 mos for my husband to come home from war. I learned alot about myself during that year: I learned I am more patient than I thought. I learned to live on faith. I learned that God is faithful. I learned that I enjoy living alone! I learned that I LOVE running! And I learned that I really really love my husband. So, sometimes waiting…while excruciating…can teach us so much! 🙂
Ruth, I don't know if I could have done that! I miss my husband sooo much after he's gone for a 5-day business trip! But God's taught me the value of waiting in other situations–some really tough ones. And I pray he keeps on teaching me! (I have no doubt he will, especially since I'm asking for it!)