Waiting....

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, not faint" (Isaiah 40:31).

I am currently trying to teach my daughter what the word "wait" means.  My husband and I are working with her, so that she grows up realizing that sometimes, it is required of us to wait, and although waiting is not always fun or desirable, it is an important life lesson that must be learned.

My daughter is always thinking.  She has a way of reflecting on events and/or discussions that really always surprises me.  Upon being asked to wait, she ALWAYS says, "Mommy, waiting is hard!", but recently she stated with reflection well beyond her years, "Waiting feels uncomfortable, mommy."  I could think of nothing, but, "Yes, it does."

Currently, I am in a bible study that explores the results of a time when people in the bible were unable to wait on God, and therefore suffered great consequence.  Abraham and Sarah wanted a baby so badly that they had Abraham commit adultery to get one, resulting in a pregnancy and birth of a man who would spawn a nation of a religion contrary to the Christian belief system.

There is another story about a man named Saul who lost his job because of impatience.

The Israelite people walked all over God's timing, and He continued to have mercy on them.  I can relate to their impatience, but poor Moses...sort of.  

God's timing is often confusing, frustrating and well, just hard to understand.  In my lifetime, I have been forced more times than I like to remember how it feels to wait for a silent God to give me the answers I WANT!  I have had to wait.....and wait...and wait some more.  I think the toughest truth for me is that sometimes, we are waiting for things that just aren't God's will.  Sometimes, we are waiting faithfully that God is going to do what we want, and not trusting that He is working all along to give us exactly what we need.  Aligning our desires with God's will is a mystery to me, but I can say with conviction that every time I have allowed God's timing to prevail over my life, it has worked out exactly the way it should.  

I found some great material to share.  Below are some great tidbits that I feel minister to me in times of "waiting", so hopefully you will glean some truth from them also.   

 Here are a few things God does for us when we wait for him:

1.  He humbles us

Waiting helps us realize that we are dependent creatures.  We’re not the captain of our souls or in charge of our own destiny.  We’re not self-sufficient, but we live by every mercy dispensed from God’s hand.

2.  He teaches us to seek him

Waiting on God is not passive.  As we wait, we seek.  We pray, we beseech God.  We cry out “How long, O Lord?”  We ask, and knock and submit our requests to God.  If we got what we wanted right away, we wouldn't draw near to God and we’d miss out on the joy of his presence.

3.  He teaches us to trust him

While we’re waiting for God to save our child or meet our needs we stretch our faith to the limit.  We trust, though all our circumstances tell us to despair.  As we wait, our trust grows.

4.  He builds patience and perseverance into us

The only way to get patience is to have to wait for something.  Perseverance only comes through enduring trials, failures and persecution.

5.  He reveals what is in our hearts

What comes out of your heart when you don’t get what you want?  Grumbling?  Hard thoughts of God?  Or praise and trust?  When you can wait with a quiet heart, you know God has done a work in you.

6.  He helps us to treasure him above the things we are waiting for

He teaches us to find our contentment in him.  He is our portion, not anything in this world.  Only Jesus can truly satisfy us.  No person or thing that we wait for can satisfy us like Christ. 

7.  He makes mercy sweeter when it finally arrives

We appreciate blessings more when we've prayed and trusted and waited for them.  We appreciate health more after sickness.  And how much more will we enjoy our eternal weight of glory after our temporary, light afflictions.