Most of us know what it is to send a text or an email and wait for a reply. That patient waiting is easy when the answer you seek is not a big deal. However, when you are suffering and in hardship, waiting can be painful. In that case, we cannot say ‘forget the waiting’ because we have no choice but to wait. It is somewhat of a place of confinement but it is not hopeless.
“I waited patiently for the Lord and He turned to me and heard my cry” Psalm 40:1
It is not that we are waiting for people or for our circumstances to change. We wait for God. That’s where hope lies. Circumstances and people can often disappoint. Neither can we change them; that kind of waiting is pointless. To wait for God though is to have our eyes fixed on One who is full of mercy and has all power to lift us from our sorrows.
Patience is critical to all of life. It reminds us that we are not in control and are truly dependent on God. We must put it on daily. It is a choice. It is a quality that the Holy Spirit produces in us.
Failing to wait patiently only increases our anxiety and stress. It seldom yields a good outcome. In retrospect, we often come to the conclusion that waiting patiently would have produced a much better result.
In this case, in the waiting we gain an awareness or consciousness of God. The sense of His presence does not necessarily come automatically. It comes to the one who has taken the time to intentionally wait for God. That means that we begin to wait on God even when we don’t feel Him in the slightest. As we wait, there are some insights that come slowly to us; they distil down and settle firmly upon our soul.
The first is that God Himself turns toward us. He notices us. He looks at us. His eyes become fixed on us. The psalmist says that. There’s nothing aloof on the part of God toward the one who waits for Him. He actually bends over us and fixes His gaze upon us.
The second is that He listens to us. He hears our cry. He takes it all in; the words, the pain, all the emotion. He is suddenly attentive to it all – for the one who waits for Him.
I find that giving thanks to God helps me to wait patiently for Him. Thanksgiving builds faith and it eases the waiting. Maybe thanksgiving is a bit like an appetizer before a great meal.
What are you patiently waiting for today? Shift your focus to wait on God and present yourself before Him; before the One who sees all, knows all, and loves you perfectly.
Dear Father,
I pray that You would soothe the soul of all who are waiting patiently for You. Help us take our eyes off of people and circumstances and simply wait for you. Turn to us Lord and hear our cry. We are waiting for You!
In Jesus Name,
Amen