Worship??? IN the waiting???

There’s nothing like putting something in black and white for all the world to see — at least those who read this blog — that makes one… well, I guess the best word is accountable. Accountable to put into practice the lessons I talked about last time, lessons based on learning to wait… and wait well.

All week I’ve been mulling over something I shared at the very end of the post, the words from a song…

… I will worship in the waiting
when I cannot see the end…

“Waiting” by Healing Place Worship

Worship in the waiting.

Worship??? IN the waiting??? How in the world is that possible??? If I’m not mistaken, this hints at a major change in attitude as much as anything. Yikes.

Earlier this week I was reading in the Psalms — and wouldn’t you know, waiting was mentioned yet again!

I waited patiently for the Lord;
He turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
and put their trust in the Lord.

Psalm 40: 1-3

Waiting patiently was not done in vain, but rather resulted in action. God heard! He responded! The outcome was being lifted out of the difficult circumstances the writer was in. AND having a new song, a hymn of praise, put in his heart.

I’d call that a major shift in attitude! Instead of bemoaning whatever was causing him to wait, instead of being critical or questioning or discontent, the writer patiently waited for God… and it paid off! That shift also encouraged others: those who saw what had happened in the writer’s experience also put their trust in God.

I had a text exchange earlier this morning with a dear friend who is thousands of miles away. She had had a heart attack a week ago and was back in the hospital. I asked how her anxiety level was… and she responded with brutal honesty how hard this has been. How confusing. How unfair (since she’s always been fit, eaten sensibly, etc.). How she felt her body had betrayed her.

What struck me with her honesty and vulnerability was how that stripped away any pretense, any trying-to-be-spiritual-when-your-heart-is-breaking-and-your-mind-is-reeling attitude. Like the psalmist, her crying out to God, waiting for Him in the midst of uncertainty and very real fears opened the door for God to use her in what I’m sure was an unexpected way — helping me to see some things more clearly:

• The importance of living each day to the fullest. Jesus put it this way: “Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough troubles of its own.” (Matthew 6: 34)
• The importance of verbalizing appreciation NOW… when the opportunity presents itself. “Do not withhold good from those who deserve it when it is in your power to act.” (Proverbs 3: 27)
• The importance of recognizing that our days ARE numbered… and that they are in God’s loving hands. “The length of our days is seventy years — or eighty, if we have the strength… Teach us to number our days aright…” (Psalm 90: 10, 12)

My friend shared that her new life verse is

My flesh and my heart may fail,
but GOD is the strength of my heart
and my portion forever.

Psalm 73: 26

That, my friends, is how we worship in the waiting… by having our focus on Someone who is greater than whatever we’re going through, Someone who loves us and is eagerly waiting for us to call out to Him.

So… yet another tutorial on waiting. Another reminder that we need each other and that together we can have joy in the journey of this thing we call “Life!”