Waiting on God

No matter where I have lived (Florida, Texas, Tennessee, Virginia, Arkansas) I always think of Winter as a time of waiting….waiting to “Spring” clean; waiting for Spring to bloom in beauty; and waiting to move at a more rapid pace.  Today here in Southeast Texas we are actually having a winter day…the high will be 50!  Brrr.  So, I’m inside drinking hot coffee and thinking of making hot chocolate…this gal is not going outside where, with the wind chill, it feels like below zero (according to me not the weatherperson)!   Instead I am pondering the concept of WAITING.

Read with me , James 5:7-8 (NLT)  Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. ⁸ You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.

Being willing to wait on the Lord is the equivalent to being patient!  God’s “Wait” Room is a personal training room for each believer…I truly believe that God wants us to participate in the exercise of patience!

It seems to me there is always something or someone we are waiting for or on! And that waiting takes patience!  Every day presents plenty of occasions for “wait” training in patience!  We can get angry about having to wait; we can be resolute and accept that we have to wait; or we can get a blessing and a lesson from waiting…and get good at it!  One thing for sure and certain (Amish saying) we cannot avoid having to wait.

If you are thinking, “OH NO!...I HATE WAITING!” listen to God’s wonderful promise:
Isaiah 40:31 (ESV) but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

I’m hearing God telling us, loud and clear, there are times when we need to slow down and wait on Him. We need to wait on God to give us directions. I really identify with this quote from the New England preacher Phillips Brooks(1800’s)…One day a friend saw him pacing the floor like a caged lion. 'What is the trouble, Dr. Brooks?' asked his friend. 'The trouble is,' replied Brooks, 'that I'm in a hurry, but God isn't!

Patience is what James is addressing in 5:7-8. What does it mean to wait on God? Here are some things waiting on the Lord is not: Being lazy; hibernating; nor abandoning His kingdom-work.  The kind of patience to which James is referring can only be achieved by a person who has totally surrendered his/her life to Jesus Christ.  I love slowing myself down by quoting Psalm 46:10a (ESV)  Be still, and know that I am God…

So, for the next week, let’s practice “Being Still”…. And exercising in God’s “Wait Room”.  You can be sure…there are some more patience thoughts I want to share!

Joyfully,

Yvonne