How do you Wait?
Isaiah 40:31 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.
Psalm 25:5, 26 Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation, on You I wait all the day. . .Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, for I wait for You
Psalm 27:14 Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!
Psalm 37:7,9 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. . . . For evildoers shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth.
Hebrews 9:28 so Christ was offered once to bear the sins of many. To those who eagerly wait for Him He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.
I have a hard time waiting. It’s always been an issue for me.
Have you ever stopped and wondered about how often God’s Word says to “Wait….?” I knew it was fairly often He spoke and commanded this, but I had to look it up. The biblical website I use says it’s 106 times, and other variations of the word, such as waits, waiting, and so forth claims it is 141. So obviously, at times it is important to God for us to wait.
So I know He knows how difficult it has been in the past for me to wait. Just the idea of the word used to make me grit my teeth. I was always in a hurry, and never wanted to wait. Thankfully, I had to wait to achieve certain things in my life.
My parents said I had to wait and save for a bicycle, I was too young and not skilled enough to get a “big girl bike” so I was given one for my sixth birthday. And still took a few dumps off learning to ride it. They said I had to wait until I was of an age before I could start dating. They were right, as I was too young before then. But at those times, it felt like forever, so unfair, and I felt so discouraged.
I have the same issue toward the end of winter when I am impatient to see my garden in color instead of the brown sticks sticking out of the ground. I hurry off to the store and buy pansies, petunias and daffodils and narcissi. And of course, within a very few short weeks, my bulbs push up the green leaves of amaryllis, my roses start sending out green leaves, and there is no longer a need to wait. My desire to see flowers and color is answered. But, again, I couldn’t wait once I began seeing the different Spring flowers.
Waiting. I am better now than I used to be for certain, but it is not always easy, but I have a more in-depth skillset now to wait. I know there are several verses reminding me—commanding me—to wait. I am not in charge even though I used to believe I was and it was necessary. Thankfully I am not in charge. I have finally learned that God is and His plan is much better than my own. I have caused a lot of my own problems trying to not wait and hurry along something. And frequently the cost has been dear.
There are still times the sneaky, lying beast tries to creep in and give me many reasons why I deserve something now, or if I wait I will lose the opportunity and this is such a great one, it would be awful if I lost out. The lies and cajoling can go on and on if I hesitate and debate.
But again, my skill set has greatly improved. I know the beast is sneaky, lying and around. I know he tempts and tries to get me to do something wrong, to be impatient, to ultimately his goal is to see me fail. He enjoys seeing me disregard God’s will and follow him. And I fail because I have not brought the verses to memory to refuse him, to deny temptation, to ultimately wait. I know the steps to take to defeat the beast for the moment; it’s a matter of doing it.
It’s a matter of waiting until I know what God wants. If He is saying ‘wait, don’t spend your money on this foolishness now,’ then I have learned I will be disappointed if I jump and do it. I have the verses to strengthen me, to help me wait, to know He has a plan for me, and certainly I have learned that I have made significant errors over my lifetime by not waiting.
It is certainly a common fault many have. I am thankful that by making mistakes, learning from them, and realizing that waiting is not a fatal event, I am easier with waiting than when I was younger.
Thank You for teaching me how to wait for Your timing for me and “mybellaviews.”
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