In The Waiting

So, let’s talk about waiting! There’s the waiting room in the doctors office, the waiting on the birth of a baby, then there’s waiting on a favorable response to all of the job interviews you’ve probably been on, and the waiting for a much anticipated visit from loved ones who are far away and lastly, there is waiting for Christmas morning as a small child. The anticipation runs wild! However you are waiting, the honesty of the waiting can be grueling. Our hopes, our want tos,  our ardent desires and longings can cause our hearts to strain at the bit while reality pulls back on the bridle to hold us suspended. We can think that the waiting will actually be our undoing at times. But in the anticipation there is a lesson I think. There is occasionally the lesson of self restraint or maybe  the lesson of selflessness and quite often the lesson of patience. Whatever the outcome we must always believe that God has a purpose and a plan in the waiting. Waiting, I believe, according to God’s Word affords us way more benefits than we could ever count or realize. “Waiting” renews our strength; waiting   produces endurance and character and hope; waiting helps us to become compassionate and merciful; it produces joy. In the waiting God hears us and pulls us up out of our trouble. In the waiting God hides us and shelters us and delivers us. In the waiting we are made better. So, “in the waiting” is where we walk in the blessings of the Lord for our lives. So, even if it’s hard, even if it seems unimaginably painful and even if we think we will burst, “ the waiting” is the reward. The waiting and your response to it are where your victories lie. In the whole plan of our lives Gods blessings alone make “waiting” something worth enduring. In your waiting I pray that you find the treasure that Christmas morning holds for a child and in the waiting I pray that you see and experience the gift of love that your Father has for you. It’s sooooo worth “ the waiting”.

Insight Insert: I challenge you to make a list of the things that you are waiting for. After each entry, when your waiting is over, write down a prayer of thanksgiving beside that entry and date it. I’ll be waiting to hear how many moments of anticipation are met with good news. I’m thinking it’s a sure thing!

Scripture:  Psalm 27: 13-14  “I believe thatI shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”