WAITING, WAITING, WAITING

Open, open, open! Do you remember the Mervyn’s commercial back in the day? People crammed against their front door waiting for the store to open. That’s a little bit of how I feel these days. Waiting, waiting, waiting…open, open, open.

Waiting for life to get back to normal, waiting on my fatigue to be gone due to my heart condition and the medications, waiting on my physical strength to grow doing exercises that weren’t so difficult just a few years ago, waiting on a relationship to be restored that I never thought would be broken, waiting on my friend to be healed and walk out of the hospital, waiting….

Times of waiting can bring out so many emotions and mental issues. Frustration, anxiety, hopelessness, inadequacy, depression, and so many more. We want life to work like we think it should. But when something comes along that makes us wait, we truly find out what is inside of ourselves.

There have been many times in my life where I have had to sit and anticipate the outcome. My daughter’s brain damage, my husband’s cancer, financial problems, bitter relationships. I wanted to know the conclusion to the matter. I could resolve the difficulty and not bother anyone, including God. The ugly head of self-sufficiency came out. But I was never able to change them by stepping in. I had to wait. I thought of a caterpillar the other day while, well, waiting. To become all that God created a caterpillar to be, that creature has to fulfill its purpose by metamorphosing in a specific manner. If that process is disturbed, it cannot become a butterfly. God created the butterfly to complete its growth process.

So, God has a purpose in our waiting. He has a process in which we grow and mature into the person He created. If we rush in to fix what is causing us to wait with our limited humanity, we may very well destroy the purpose, process, and blessings that God intends—both for ourselves and others involved.

When I have been in financial straits and wondered how I could survive, God was working. Many times, He had spoken to other people to help me financially or with groceries. Had I tried to obtain the money I needed, perhaps by getting a second job or selling some of my possessions, I would have damaged His blessing for both me and the provider. Having been on both sides of the giving and receiving, I promise that there are so many blessings and lessons God wants us to have by waiting on His provision.

The Israelites, wandering in the wilderness, gave us some examples of how to disrupt God’s plans and blessings. Leaving Egypt must have been very difficult for the Israelites. I’m guessing their plan was to go straight to the Promised Land in the most direct route that would have taken less than 40 years! That would have been my plan. Get there, don’t stop, no wandering off. Several times, they got a little impatient believing things should have happened in a timelier manner. One instance involved a golden calf. The Lord had called Moses to the top of Mount Sinai to discuss with him, alone, leaving the Israelites behind. That conversation took 40 days and several chapters in the Bible! So, the people waited…and waited…and then, they took the matter into their own hands and decided to make another god for themselves. That didn’t turn out well for them. They destroyed the blessings that God had for them in so many, many ways.

However, the golden calf wasn’t their only god while wandering in the wilderness. They made impatience their god. They also made grumbling their god, along with whining, finger-pointing, and self-confidence. God had just given them a victory by delivering up the Canaanites. Then, this happened: “Then they set out from Mount Hor by the way of the Red Sea, to go around the land of Edom; and the people became impatient because of the journey. The people spoke against God and Moses, “Why have you brought us up out of Egypt to die in the wilderness? For there is no food and no water, and we loathe this miserable food.” (Numbers 21:4-5) Things weren’t going their way, and look what came out while they were waiting.

Hmmm…what becomes our gods while we are waiting? I know some of mine—frustration, depression, bitterness, anger, neglect, indifference. Recognize any of my gods? My gods aren’t very pretty, and they don’t glorify God and draw others to Him. There are many times I need to allow the one true God to rule during my times of waiting.

I found three definitions of the word, “wait,” in the Bible.

First, “wait” means to be strong, to bind together, to expect, to be gathered.

“Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day.” Psalm 25:5

“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.” Isaiah 40:31

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me and heard my cry.” Psalm 40:1

The second definition of “wait” means to hope, to expect, and by implication, to be patient.

“Then he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove; but she did not return to him again.” Genesis 8:12

“My soul languishes for Your salvation; I wait for Your word.” Psalm 119:81

“Be strong and let your heart take courage, all you who hope (wait for) the Lord.” Psalm 31:24

And lastly, “wait” means to look for with constant diligence or attention, persistently, devotedly.

“For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness.” Galatians 5:5

“And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body.” Romans 8:23

Even God’s patience waited: “…when the patience of God kept waiting in the days of Noah, during the construction of the ark, in which a few, that is eight persons, were brought safely through the water.” 1 Peter 3:20

So, instead of rushing the locked, front door of Mervyn’s, let’s TRUST that God has a purpose and a lesson in our waiting.

Let’s not turn to our other gods.

I hate those who regard vain idols, but I trust in the LORD. Psalm 31:6

Let’s be strong and bind together.

Trust in the LORD and do good; dwell in the land and cultivate faithfulness. Psalm 37:3

Let’s hope and be patient.

“Trust in Him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.” Psalm 62:8

And let’s look for Him with persistent attention and devotion.

“I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus, that in everything you were enriched in Him, in all speech and all knowledge, even as the testimony concerning Christ was confirmed in you, so that you are not lacking in any gift, awaiting eagerly the revelation of our Lord Jesus Christ.” 1 Corinthians 1:4-7

Waiting, waiting, waiting…What reactions are pouring out? Which God or gods are ruling?