Wait!!! Wait!!!

As the youngest of three children, my oft-repeated refrain was “Wait!!! Wait!!!” My older siblings and cousins would leave me in the dust… like a slow-moving turtle who wanted to be a part of everything the big kids did but wasn’t fast enough to keep up. I was ahead of my time as a FOMO (Fear Of Missing Out) personality!

Learning how to wait — and wait well — seems to be a lesson God has been zeroing in on the past few months. Unfortunately, I’ve flunked several of my “waiting tests,” but as a good teacher, He keeps giving me opportunities to learn, to grow, to put into practice principles that continue to surface through a variety of life experiences.

The main on-going lesson is with my vision. The last time I blogged was — gulp!! — November 4th. In all honesty, I kept putting off writing because I wanted to have a happy ending to that post. Instead… guess what?! I’m still waiting to have clear vision!! I have since had a second procedure to address the blurriness issue. From a medical point-of-view, everything looks good. I just need to… you guessed it! WAIT!!!

In addition to this in-my-face example, it also seems that often these past months, when reading God’s Word, the word WAIT pops up!

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.
Psalm 37:7a

Ugh. A double whammy. Be STILL. Wait PATIENTLY.

My tutorials on waiting have also been emphasizing the need to be still, which in my mind connotes being at rest, at peace. Not being anxious. I picture a body of water with no waves, no current, no turbulence. Quiet. Tranquil. An inviting place that is life-giving.

Too often, my waiting is characterized by NOT being still. NOT being at rest. More like chaos with an inner unsettledness, all of which are polar opposites from what the psalmist is inviting us to do.

Be STILL and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10

Being still and waiting — waiting well — are both rooted not so much in technique as in a person: God. Why a person? Because He knows me best. He knows what I’m going through, what I’m struggling with, what my hopes and dreams and fears are. He knows that I want to see clearly physically, but from His perspective, more important to my life is that I see clearly spiritually.

When my spiritual vision is clear, then I can rest in knowing that my loving Father is truly working ALL things together for my good (see Romans 8:28). I can be still, quiet, at peace knowing that His timing is perfect — even though it frequently is different from mine! The Old Testament prophet Jeremiah relayed God’s words to people in exile saying,

“I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.”

Jeremiah 29:11

So… the lessons continue! The waiting goes on. But knowing that God is directing my steps, not playing games with me or deliberately trying to derail me (that’s what the enemy of our souls does!) enables me to have joy in the journey of this thing we call “Life!” May that be true of you as well.

Even the music I have been listening to during my morning devotional times with God has had a waiting theme! Two stanzas from this song have impacted me: