Because people in my world are doing a lot of it these days.
Okay, and me too.
is it really going to come soon, or is this finally the year that it just won’t happen?!- but we can’t do much about it.
Except gripe. And complain.
So, there’s a lot of that.
We can also watch for the little signs, which I find quite beneficial... such as-------------->
Hard stuff. Waiting and waiting and waiting.
And again, not much to do to lessen the waiting or change the outcomes. Just, wait.
People I love are waiting for changes to happen in people they love…
waiting for children or siblings to “see the light” and move through addictions to healthier, safer places,
waiting for family members to turn the corner to a new level of maturity and stop making life hard for everyone especially themselves,
waiting for adults to act like adults so that kids can act like kids.
people waiting for a decent job offer or a pay raise so that finances aren’t squeezing the joy out of every single day...
So, when I come to a verse like Psalm 37:7,
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him…”
What does it mean to wait for the LORD?
How do I do that, in the manner described here – waiting, but bookended by these phrases, “be still before the Lord” and “patiently.”
Is that even possible?
And why does God make us wait so much anyway?
If He’s God, can’t He just do something already?
Half a lifetime ago, close friends were sorting through a career change that would move them out of our neighborhood forever (how I remember that sobbingly sad day…) As they wandered in the no-man’s land between the asking and the answering, we decided with them:
And when we are “there,”
waiting, waiting, waiting,
how do we follow these simple words-
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him?”
helps me to catch a glimpse of a bigger picture of what God might be doing.
When I take time to bring my stuff before God again, and again, and again,
and then just. sit. with. Him.
listening, being, waiting…
I recall what I have gained in my times of waiting.
I observe the way God has noodled around in my life and changed me during the gaping pauses of unanswered prayer, and I am grateful for that work.
I see the same pattern in other people, and while I would never wish on them the pain of waiting, I marvel at the transformations that emerge from the chrysalis of that interlude.
2. Being still before the LORD lessens the intensity of my demands for Him to get busy.
I see my great struggle in the context of greater struggles in the world around me, and realize that not everything is about me.
I recalibrate the weight of my wait, and try to walk thoughtfully and kindly with others who are waiting too…often for much more substantial concerns than mine.
Even when I am waiting in very trying circumstances, sitting before God with the needs of other people helps to broaden the scope of my praying, lessening the strident tone of my impatience.
I find deep comfort simply being in his Presence,
and when I realize that my waiting and my deep need has driven me to this Place,
I pause;
sometimes I can even embrace the wait.
I have often identified with the word picture of a turtle basking in warm sunshine on a river rock.
As I absorb the warmth of God’s love for me – right in the middle of my mess, water swirling around me – my patience is enlarged. My trust deepens even when my understanding of what He’s up to is obscured by my own nearsightedness.
hovering in a holding pattern,
looking for the smallest sign of hope,
wondering if you are going to go “through” this situation or if this is your living space,
how do you do it?
What are you learning in times of being still?
How do you wait patiently?
What is God up to in your life?
I welcome your thoughts and stories in the comment section below!