Waiting:

Pastor Mark talked about active waiting in Sunday’s  message. Active waiting? I always considered waiting a passive thing to do, it’s like a rut, you can’t move forward or back, you’re just there…. waiting. Like waiting for the train to go by, or the light to turn green, or the lady with the coupons to finally pay for her items. Waiting to see the doctor, waiting for the dentist to be finished, waiting for the mail, that phone call. Waiting for the diagnosis, your spouse to return, your children to come home.

The message this morning made me think about waiting and here are some of those thoughts.

The word wait is mentioned at least 71 times in the Bible. Other words for wait include expect, hope, long for, reserve, and yield.

I thought of the responses I have often said or heard when there is nothing left, I can do to change the situation like “I guess there’s nothing left to do except to sit back and wait.”  Or “All we can do is just wait and see what happens. “And my favorite, “All we can do now is just wait and pray.” Passive waiting is not the same as surrender.

Waiting is not an invitation to give up.  It was never meant to be an excuse to worry, or doubt God’s faithfulness to His Word, or His promises to me.  Its purpose is to develop in us perseverance, expectant hope, anticipation for answered prayers.

That’s so easy to say if I’m not the one in the waiting place. Some of us are waiting for God to move in our marriages, our children, at our workplace. Some of us are waiting for the next paycheck, the next meal, the next day off.  Some of us are waiting for true love, recognition, validation. We will all be there at some point, and we will all be there frequently.

Waiting is not passive.  It is not the final page or the last scene. It’s just another space – another place to practice and exercise our faith. Waiting does not mean, “Fine, God, Whatever! I give up.”  Spoken out of anger or frustration or maybe, do I dare say it, impatience.  Instead it’s a time  to press on, to persevere, to never give up on God and His promises, His Word and His unconditional love for we His prized possession, children of God.

It’s both a waiting room of the unknown and a “weight room”.  A place to seek God’s direction Proverbs 3:5,6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, lean not on your own understanding in all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight. 

A time to draw near to Him and experience His presence as He draws near to you. (James 4:8)

In the “weight room” it’s a time for us to build our spiritual faith muscles. Pulling ourselves up by His Word. Renewing our minds with His promises and working out our salvation.

There can be restlessness in the wait, or there can be rest.  There can be anger in the wait or there can be peace.  There can be doubting in the wait or there can be faith.  There can be questioning, doubting, giving up in the waiting or there can be worship.

-Kathy White

07/22/2019