Waiting is hard. We are not wired for it.
When I’m are put on hold on the telephone, I get impatient, while being forced to listen to terrible music for an undetermined amount of time. If we approach a red light, we take a different street. A webpage doesn’t load fast enough and we click away.
We have to wait whether we like it or not.
Waiting has taken on a different meaning in today’s pandemic culture.
Retail stores have floor markings instructing the shoppers where to wait to enter the store until someone exits the store. Social distancing has added the dimension of waiting six feet from the person in front of you at the checkout.
Since the Shelter-in-Place began I have been waiting for the restrictions to lift. As the days pass, I learn that it will be awhile. Waiting becomes harder when there is no end in sight.
What can we do when we don’t want to wait but have to?
Consider the wisdom of God regarding waiting.
God is sovereign as we wait.
As I wait, I have to remember that God is sovereign. He stands outside of time. When I get anxious, I have to change my focus to God’s sovereign perspective. He sees the whole landscape while I only see a sliver of the bigger plan. In remembering God’s sovereignty, my spirit relaxes in His faithful love.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 NIV
Wait in the refuge of God.
While waiting, abide with the Lord. Take the time to sit in His presence. Although stillness doesn’t seem productive, this type of waiting yields unseen results. I know his peace and strength when I wait in the refuge of God.
The Amplified Bible explains Isaiah 40:31a this way:
But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power…
An important dimension of waiting is hope.
Wait can mean look forward to or hope for. In the Hebrew it means “to bind together” (perhaps by twisting strands as in making a rope), to “look patiently,” to “tarry or wait,” and to “hope, expect, look eagerly.”
I look forward to with hope to the end of the pandemic pause. And, I hope for a good result, even in the midst of unknowns.
Worship in the waiting.
We can draw near to God in worship as we wait. Focusing on the Lord calms my heart from the chaos.
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
What does it mean to be still?
It is resting in a holy space of communion with God, recalling His character and promises and how He has answered prayers. The end result is greater confidence in God, knowing that He will again be faithful to all His promises.
In his book Prayer: Finding the Heart’s True Home, Richard Foster makes this observation on waiting.
In waiting we get in touch with the rhythms of life—stillness and action, listening and decision.
Waiting is hard. We are not wired for it.
But when we turn our mindset to the Lord, He meets us and brings purpose to the wait.
We can wait with hope. He makes the wait worthwhile.
