We had just put our house on the market a week earlier.
Up until that time, it was a flurry of activity with painting, striping wallpaper, scrubbing, cleaning, repairing and redecorating being the theme.
We hoped that in not-too-many days, the house would sell, and the flurry of activity would start all over again with packing and moving, and of course, there would be the painting, etc., of the new place.
We were in a rush for this to happen. We wanted all the dust to be settled by the end of July, because our son was getting married at the end of August; but we were, at that moment, in a waiting phase.
We had looked at a few houses, yes, but until our home sold, we really couldn’t do anything. We couldn’t even really start packing, for the house needed to stay pristine-looking for potential buyers. Besides, when we didn’t yet know where we would be going, it would have been difficult to know what to get rid of and what to keep!
It seemed like such a waste of time, this waiting. We could have been busy doing so much towards advancing the move; but there we sat, twiddling our thumbs so to speak, waiting…
Do you find yourself in a waiting period of life? Maybe you’ve been given a promise of restoration, but you await its fulfillment. Maybe you thought you were on the right track, but you were derailed by a bad medical diagnosis or relationship issues. Or maybe you lost your job. And since there isn’t anything you can “do” to change these derailments, to get yourselves back on track, you find yourselves waiting…
It’s hard to wait patiently, isn’t it? I just wanted to start packing! In the same way, I know you want your lives to get back on track as quickly as possible from the bad circumstances that have brought you to a standstill.
Let’s remember, however, that, “To everything there is a season, A time for every purpose under heaven…” (Eccl. 3:1 NKJV). God never intended for us to push forward full-steam all the time, and His Word tells us that there are benefits to 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).
So what do we do when we wait?
*Here are a few suggestions I found…
1. Remember that God hears our cries: “Therefore I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; My God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7 NKJV).
2. We must put our hope in God’s Word and remember the blessings yet to come: “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.” (Psalm 130:5 NKJV); “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. For the Lord is a God of justice; Blessed are all those who wait for Him.” (Isaiah 30:18).
3. We must trust explicitly in the Lord and not in ourselves: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding…” (Proverbs 3:5 NKJV).
4. Our job to watch with expectancy and to be prepared for unexpected answers: “My voice You shall hear in the morning, O Lord; In the morning I will direct it to You, And I will look up.” (Psalm 5:3 NKJV)
5. We need to see the waiting period as an opportunity to experience God’s goodness:“The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him.” (Lamentations 3:25 NKJV).
6. While we wait, we need to be strong and take courage: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed That I would see the goodness of the Lord In the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!” (Psalm 27:13-14; see also Ps. 31:24 NKJV).
7. We also need to be still and choose patience, putting a stop to our fretting and anger: “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from anger, and forsake wrath; Do not fret—it only causes harm.” (Psalm 37:7-8 NKJV).
8. Finally, we need to continue in steadfast prayer: “Continue earnestly in prayer, being vigilant in it with thanksgiving…” (Colossians 4:2 NKJV).
I tried to remember this the next time I have to wait…And maybe I’ll catch up a bit on my writing in the downtime!
*Taken from the “Unlocking the Bible” website…
In His love,
Lyn
Lynona Gordon Chaffart, Speech-Language Pathologist, mother of two, Author — “Aboard God’s Train — A Journey With God Through the Valley of Cancer”, Author and Moderator for The Nugget, a tri-weekly internet newsletter, andScriptural Nuggets, a website devoted to Christian devotionals and inspirational poems, withAnswers2Prayer Ministries. Follow Lyn on Twitter @lynchaffart.