Waiting

I read something today that struck me as rather profound. It was a different way of looking at something very common.

"Biblically, waiting on the Lord is never passive; it is always active."
Experiencing God Day by Day Devotional

Waiting.

Waiting on the Lord to renew our strength.

Waiting on the Lord to reveal His will.

Waiting on the Lord to intervene.

Waiting on the Lord to come again.


All of waiting requires the action of faith- believing that God will do what He says He will do. It requires the action of being patient. Which is kind of an oxymoron but any of us who have tried to be patient understand how much action it takes! Waiting requires us to trust- actively in the Word and promises of God.

Waiting on the Lord. It also asks us pursue God wholeheartedly- running towards Him with everything we are- even when running towards Him requires us to just be still.

I am not very good at waiting. In fact, I am rather bad at the whole deal. When I was younger- I would stay up all night on Christmas Eve just because of the anticipation of Christmas morning. Not because of Santa or the gifts- but because of the magic of Christmas morning. I stayed up because I couldn't sleep...I just couldn't relax enough to settle in and sleep. Therefore, on Christmas morning I crashed around 10am usually. I would be completely exhausted, irritable, and unpleasant to be around so my mother would send me to my room.

That is what happens when we don't utilize the waiting periods for God. We become anxious, irritable, exhausted, and overwhelmed with fear, thoughts, and anticipation that accompanies the waiting game.

But...that is not God's plan. God desires us to take advantage of the waiting period for preparation. Removing all distractions, obstacles, and anything else that gets in the way of us being able to see Him clearly when He decides to act.

Psalm 37:3-8; 34a
3Trust in the LORD and do good;
dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture.

4 Delight yourself in the LORD
and he will give you the desires of your heart.

5 Commit your way to the LORD;
trust in him and he will do this:

6 He will make your righteousness shine like the dawn,
the justice of your cause like the noonday sun.

7 Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
do not fret when men succeed in their ways,
when they carry out their wicked schemes.

8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath;
do not fret—it leads only to evil.

34 Wait for the LORD
and keep his way.

This is a PS- I post on Myspace as well and this is from a reader and I thought I would share...
Thank you! I once had a teacher share with me that the original word for "wait" in the Isaiah 40:31 verse means something like "to cleave" to the Lord... to actively "hope in" and embrace Him, cleave to His very being and essence... a very active "embracing" kind of waiting... thank you for sharing this today... once again... you are right on time. God's blessings! Posted by Jenny