A friend of mine has been talking to me about the period of waiting she is in with the Lord. She is chomping at the bit to "get to work", but continues to hear the Lord telling her to wait.
Another friend's husband wrote his own blog post about waiting today, too.
The verse of the day on the Bible App was from Psalm 33:18. I read further. Here was what I read:
"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name." Psalms 22:18-21
Have anything you've been waiting on? A new job? Better health or healing? Salvation for loved ones? Love? Restoration of a relationship?
Boy, I have some things I've been waiting on the Lord for...some of those things have been years in the waiting! Some days tears spill over in the longing for His movement, His action. Some days frustration spills out of my mouth aimed right for Him. Some days I am calm remembering His promises.
Today I stopped to re-read this verse and stopped when it said, "...We wait in hope in His unfailing love..."
Wait in hope? That implies waiting is an action. And, guess what?
Wait really IS a verb! It literally means: to stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or event and to remain in readiness for a purpose.
Remain in readiness for a purpose....ouch. That implies I personally have to be doing something during that waiting. In this case, waiting IN hope. Trusting that the Lord isn't taking a nap during my time of waiting. Trusting that the Lord has my best interests at heart. Trusting that the Lord would never leave or fail me.
Waiting involves action on our parts. It doesn't involve sitting on the couch or worse, sitting in a pew expecting the Lord to fulfill your wishes. He's not a genie or our spiritual vending machine where we put in a tiny amount of faith or hope or expectation and He, in turn, dispenses our desires. Waiting means trusting the Lord with everything in you, even when you don't get the results YOU think you deserve. Waiting is expecting Him to care for you even when bad things continue to swirl around you. Waiting is placing your cares, your concerns, YOURSELF is His unfailing love and letting Him take the reigns.
In a world where we want immediate results, this is tough to comprehend. And, as mentioned earlier, I don't always "wait" very well, either. But, what will I gain if I rush ahead thinking He has no ability to help me? What if I rush ahead because I feel He isn't doing a good enough job addressing the situation? What if I rush ahead telling Him He is no longer needed?
Doing those things will bring about actions alright: Who will offer that unfailing love? Who will deliver you from death and famine? Who will help and shield you? Who will we trust in?
Only the Lord can see ahead into our futures and know what is about to happen. I wonder how many things the Lord has shielded me from, all without me ever knowing. I wonder how many things I've been spared from because He could see ahead and He held out His capable hands to stop it. I wonder how many things I thought I wanted/needed that He pulled away from because, in the long run, it was going to harm me. AND, I wonder how many things I thought I wanted that He said no to all because He knew something GREATER was coming.
"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him..." Lamentations 3:25
Wait with expectancy. Don't lose hope, my friends.
Another friend's husband wrote his own blog post about waiting today, too.
The verse of the day on the Bible App was from Psalm 33:18. I read further. Here was what I read:
"But the eyes of the Lord are on those who fear Him, on those whose hope is in His unfailing love, to deliver them from death and keep them alive in famine. We wait in hope for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. In Him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in His holy name." Psalms 22:18-21
Have anything you've been waiting on? A new job? Better health or healing? Salvation for loved ones? Love? Restoration of a relationship?
Boy, I have some things I've been waiting on the Lord for...some of those things have been years in the waiting! Some days tears spill over in the longing for His movement, His action. Some days frustration spills out of my mouth aimed right for Him. Some days I am calm remembering His promises.
Today I stopped to re-read this verse and stopped when it said, "...We wait in hope in His unfailing love..."
Wait in hope? That implies waiting is an action. And, guess what?
Wait really IS a verb! It literally means: to stay where one is or delay action until a particular time or event and to remain in readiness for a purpose.
Remain in readiness for a purpose....ouch. That implies I personally have to be doing something during that waiting. In this case, waiting IN hope. Trusting that the Lord isn't taking a nap during my time of waiting. Trusting that the Lord has my best interests at heart. Trusting that the Lord would never leave or fail me.
Waiting involves action on our parts. It doesn't involve sitting on the couch or worse, sitting in a pew expecting the Lord to fulfill your wishes. He's not a genie or our spiritual vending machine where we put in a tiny amount of faith or hope or expectation and He, in turn, dispenses our desires. Waiting means trusting the Lord with everything in you, even when you don't get the results YOU think you deserve. Waiting is expecting Him to care for you even when bad things continue to swirl around you. Waiting is placing your cares, your concerns, YOURSELF is His unfailing love and letting Him take the reigns.
In a world where we want immediate results, this is tough to comprehend. And, as mentioned earlier, I don't always "wait" very well, either. But, what will I gain if I rush ahead thinking He has no ability to help me? What if I rush ahead because I feel He isn't doing a good enough job addressing the situation? What if I rush ahead telling Him He is no longer needed?
Doing those things will bring about actions alright: Who will offer that unfailing love? Who will deliver you from death and famine? Who will help and shield you? Who will we trust in?
Only the Lord can see ahead into our futures and know what is about to happen. I wonder how many things the Lord has shielded me from, all without me ever knowing. I wonder how many things I've been spared from because He could see ahead and He held out His capable hands to stop it. I wonder how many things I thought I wanted/needed that He pulled away from because, in the long run, it was going to harm me. AND, I wonder how many things I thought I wanted that He said no to all because He knew something GREATER was coming.
"The Lord is good to those who wait for Him..." Lamentations 3:25
Wait with expectancy. Don't lose hope, my friends.
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