The season of waiting!
Ooo…remember waiting for Christmas to come when you were a child? Felt as if the thrill of Christmas morning was about to explode within you, right? And would never get here.
Of course, the anticipation was usually about opening gifts. But if you were good at finding Mom’s hiding place, and were a good rewrapper, you already knew of a couple things good ol’ Santa was bringing.
And now that you’re a grownup? Christmas presents are bought, wrapped, and hidden away, just waiting to be given. Are you still excited?
To be honest, I am! The excitement is still there. But it’s not the receiving. It’s the giving.
And so it is with God, as He waits to give us His answers to prayer, His gifts. The ones all wrapped up, just waiting to be given.
Are we excited as we wait for those gifts, those answers to prayer? Unfortunately, we’re like passengers in an airport, standing there, shifting from one foot to the other, as we wait for our luggage to arrive at the baggage carousel. Hurry up! Luggage after luggage passes by. Where’s mine?
And we ask the Lord, “Where’s mine? Where’s my answer to prayer?” But what do we do in the in-between-times? The take-a-ticket-take-a-seat-times? The eyes-spilling-over-with-tears-times? The when-will-God’s-plans-unfold-times?
How do we wait?
We whine and complain. We become impatient that it’s taking too long for an answer. We get perplexed and confused. We’re disappointed. No results. Sometimes, we stop believing. Or we give up.
But waiting is sooo hard, isn’t it?
So, how should we wait?
We wait out the season…expectantly!
David said, “The eyes of all look expectantly to You,” (Ps. 145:15 NKJV) as He meets our needs in due season.
Wait for it…believing!
In your waiting, “Do not grieve Him by doubting His love. Nay, lift up your head, and begin to praise Him even now for the deliverance which is on the way to you, and you will be abundantly rewarded for the delay which has tried your faith.” (Unknown)
Wait for it…patiently!
Paul told the Romans, “But if we must keep trusting God for something that hasn’t happened yet, it teaches us to wait patiently and confidently.” (Rom. 8:25 TLB)
Wait for it…and be renewed!
Isaiah gives us that familiar promise for waiting, “But those who wait on 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.” (Is. 40:31 NKJV)
Wait for it…and be blessed!
The Lord also waits. Why? Isaiah said, “Therefore the Lord will wait, that He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may have mercy on you.” (Is. 30:18a NKJV) For “blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Is. 30:18b NKJV)
Wow! Are we blessed as we wait?
Are we still before the Lord, and in praise, waiting eagerly, patiently, expectantly, for Him to answer?
Wait for it! Something is coming!
In many of the episodes of the old television series is M*A*S*H, the character Radar, with his sixth sense, would stop in the middle of doing something, look up, and yell, “Choppers!”
“I don’t hear anything,” someone would respond.
Radar would always answer, “Wait for it!”
Wait for it. May your season of waiting overflow with all good things.
Keep listening. Keep looking up. Something is coming!
Hooking up with…
Soli deo Gloria Sisterhood
Laura Boggess
Purposeful Faith
Words of Life