Psalm 130:5
I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope.
I hate waiting. I want to live life without having to wait for things. I want to know what happens next. If I have to wait for something, I may as well forget about it and move on. Why? because honestly sitting in the unknown is just plain boring and sometimes even painful.
When talking about waiting in this Advent season, it’s only fitting to look into the people of God before Jesus was born. The time before Jesus (their hope) was born was a time of hardship and groaning for the people of God. The promise that God gave them through the prophets seemed like it was taking forever; some good hundred years passed before Jesus was born. That’s why in Luke 2:25-35 when Jesus’s parents took baby Jesus to the temple the old and happy Simeon who’s life was hanging on God’s promise to be fulfilled said, “I can now die in peace like You promised, because I have seen your salvation”. Luke 2:29-30. As his ancestors his whole life was waiting to see God’s promise to be fulfilled. And then one day it happened. He praised God for seeing what he and he’s people waited and prayed for and says what most of us don’t pay attention to. He’s ready to go home. All he wanted to see in his lifetime was the glimpse of God’s salvation even just as a baby.
At some point of our life we all go through a time of waiting. For some of us its like Simeon waiting to see God’s glory in our life, our nation or our ministry, for some it’s waiting to start family, marriage, kids, waiting for careers to take off, waiting for loved ones to come back, waiting for kids to grow up, waiting for God’s time for different seasons, waiting for prayers to be answered, waiting for financial struggles to ease. Waiting. It’s hard.
Like I mentioned above, I am not a patient person. That is not in my wheelhouse. But I’m learning that it’s the necessary step to move into what God has for me. I’m not always good at reminding myself of the truth but few things help me when I get restless. I realize that when I take things into my own hands and try to manipulate my situation, I get uneasy. But when I let go and let God be in control, I can experience sense of peace. I would like to share with you what’s helping me in my experience. It might be helpful to know what gets me through this season could also help you get through yours.
• God wants us to know that the waiting time even though excruciating, it’s a necessary process for growth. There’s work being done behind the scene on our character, in our spiritual discipline, in our control issues, in our faith and our trust in the Lord.
• God wants us to have peace in the midst of hardships. Waiting can be exhausting. So if you’re feeling tired in how long your situation is taking, look for things that bring you peace and calm your restless soul. Sometimes it helps to whisper to yourself that God wants you to rest. Psalm 46:10 says “Be still and know that I am God”. The chapter starts by describing Who God is in time of trouble because when we are overwhelmed it’s important to KNOW who God is. “God is our refuge and strength and always ready to help in time of trouble” psalm 46:1. The psalmist goes on and lists all kinds of life’s chaos and destructions (we can relate with the chaos and destructions of hard seasons) and ends by reminding us that “God of Israel is our fortress”. Psalm 46:11. That’s the hope we need to keep alive in us. He is our fortress.
• In our season of waiting it’s healing for our soul to worship God. Throughout the Bible we see that God’s people benefited when they kept worshipping even in their darkest days of exile and captivity where they were away from their land, temple and their priests, which were very important elements in their worship. We also see what happens when they stop offering their worship to Yahweh. God wants us to keep our focus on Him. Our worship might look different in the season we are in but it is what lifts our eyes from our situation and helps us focus on who God is.
So the bottom line is this. Your waiting is not in vain. The pain you feel is a growing pain. God of the universe is moving mountains and unmovable things on your behalf. What you don’t see is roots spreading and shaping, invisible things taking place, planted seeds growing and life beginning to sprout in your situation. Imagine the situation you’re in like a seed under the earth covered in dirt and mud. Change is happening but it’s not visible for the naked eye. Only to the faithful ones who see things through the eyes of faith, hope and allow God to use the necessary process to change them. That’s you and I my friend. Until the Lord responds, we wait.
Bless you!