Wait, Wait, Wait

Yesterday was Mother's Day, and we were visiting my husband's mom. We had eaten lunch together and were enjoying the time just visiting. Our plan for after this visit was to see a movie. My son knew this. Every ten minutes he asked if it was time to see the movie yet. We all know that kids have a hard time waiting. The whole, "Are we there yet?" question on road trips plays again and again in my mind when I think of waiting. Yep, kids are pretty bad at waiting.

Are adults any better? Am I any better?

No, I don't think so.

I am currently reading the book Restless by Jennie Allen. She must struggle with waiting too, which puts me in pretty good company! Anyway, she says, "I'm beginning to think God's favorite word in the entire universe is wait." I think I agree.

I recently went through a time of waiting on the Lord. Come to think of it, I feel I'm always waiting on the Lord. Is this wrong? I don't think so. God invites us to present Him with all of our burdens and prayer requests. The Bible also says in James that we must expect God to answer us (1:6). Therefore, I think I am always waiting on God for something, even if it's just little like, "please let my kid try new foods!"

There are so many verses in the Bible about waiting on God. I tried a Google search to see how many, but both my computer and my brain were stumped. Let's just say there are a lot of them.

Here's one of my favorites that I think offers encouragement to those of us waiting expectantly on God.

"Wait patiently on the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently on the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

In this verse, David implores us twice to wait patiently on God. And sandwiched in between the words about waiting is the encouragement to be brave and courageous too. I think being brave and courageous is what it takes to wait well.

When we wait on God, it takes trust. Sometimes, it takes bravery to trust God. It shouldn't, but sometimes it just feels that way. In order to trust, we must let go of our request, problem, situation, whatever it is that we want God to act on. That is scary for people like me who feel calm when we are in control. Trusting is letting go of my need for control and waiting patiently for God to step in. When we first decide to do that, it takes bravery and courage.

But you know what? The next time we take that step of trust, it is easier! God is faithful to answer our prayers, even if we have to wait.

There's another thing about this verse. The other key word is patiently. This was also a hard part for me. I decided, "ok, I'll wait on God," but then I let every one else around me know it. I yammered on about my prayer request. I announced I was waiting on God. I complained about my situation to anyone that would listen. I was trying to wait, but it was not exactly in a patient manner.

In Psalm 37:7 it says, "Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act." We have to be still. The Lord wants to work to answer our prayers in His time. Sometimes we just need to be still and get out of the way. In other words, put Psalm 46:10 into application. "Be still and know that I am God."

So, why might "wait" be God's favorite word? Because God wants nothing more than for us to trust Him. And when we choose to wait on Him, we choose to trust Him. We accept His position as Sovereign King. We let go of our own control, and we give it over to the one who goes before us and behind us. Even though it takes bravery and courage to wait, we do so to receive the blessings and plans of the Lord who loves us unconditionally.

It's a good trade.

Linking up this week with #intentionalTuesdays, #RaRalinkup, #TellHisStory, #coffeeforyourheart, #belovedbrews