He’s in the waiting…

I was driving home tonight, listening to my “Favorite Worship” playlist, and the song “Take Courage” by Bethel Worship came on. If you know this song, the chorus goes as follows:

Take courage my heart

Stay steadfast my soul

He’s in the waiting

The first time I ever heard this song was during a season when I was really wrestling with God about what he had for me in the relationship department. I had been struggling with the situation for years (I’m not being dramatic, YEARS) with releasing and retracting control over the timeline of my love life. I was starting to realize that my efforts always ended with half-hearted, dissatisfying situations. But the Lord was stirring my heart toward trust. And with the chorus of this song one Sunday morning, I was a puddle on the floor, hearing His reassurance that He was with me in this waiting season. Regardless of how I felt, I was not alone.

That has for so long been the filter through which I heard that song. But this evening, I heard something new from Him in these lyrics. His words changed from “don’t worry I’m with you while you wait” to “I’m here for you to find while you wait.”

Many verses throughout the Bible talk about waiting on the Lord and the focus is so much on what happens at the end of the waiting period:

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD; I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.” – Micah 7:7  (NIV)

“Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.” – James 1:12

A few specific verses I found speak less about the result and more to the process of waiting:

“Consider [Jesus] who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.” – Hebrews 12:3 (NIV)

“[B]ut those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” – Isaiah 40: 31 (NIV)

“The LORD is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him.” – Lamentations 3:15 (NIV)

“We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield. In him our hearts rejoice, for we trust in his holy name. May your unfailing love be with us, Lord, even as we put our hope in you.” – Psalm 33:20-22 (NIV)

(Emphases mine throughout)

As I was thinking more about it and doing some research, the story of the Prodigal son came up as sort of an example of someone who was impatient, who didn’t wait. But my focus turned to the brother who stayed. While we tend always look to his jealous reaction to his brother’s return as the lesson to be learned from his part of the story, I started to think more about the him as the one who waited at home. He missed an important point that I’ve been missing as well:

 “But he answered his father, ‘Look! All these years I’ve been slaving for you and never disposed your orders. Yet you never gave me even a young goat so I could celebrate with my friends…’My son,’ the father said, ‘you are always with me, and everything I have is yours.'” – Luke 15: 29,31 (NIV)

The brother who waited had his priorities all wrong. He was looking for some sort of reward or prize. What he didn’t realize was that knowing his father, the opportunity for relationship, was the reward always accessible to him. The way I interpret all of this, it sounds like the Lord is saying, “This waiting time is a gift so you can know and understand me better. I want to show you what I have for you, how I LOVE YOU. ”

What an invitation! To be invited to take an active role in discovering more about my Creator instead of just sitting on my behind, waiting for time to pass until some unknown thing may or may not happen? I’d rather dig into this gift of time He has given me. What about you?

So how do we do this? The Psalms have a couple great “how-to’s” for us:

1. Seek to learn more about Him

“Show me your ways, Lord, teach me your paths. Guide me in your truth and teach me, for you are God my Savior, and my hope is in you all day long.” – Psalm 25:4-5

2. Praise him constantly

“My heart, O God, is steadfast, my heart is steadfast; I will sing and make music.” – Psalm 57:7

3. Keep our focus on Him

“I lift up my eyes to you, to you who sit enthroned in heaven. As the eyes of slaves look to the hand of their master, as the eyes of a female slave look to the hand of her mistress, so our eyes look to the LORD our God, till he shows us his mercy.” – Psalm 123:1-3

I’m still in the process of learning how to embrace the wait. I’m digging into who God is as best I can, and it’s so fun to see new ways He’s choosing to love me. My favorite part, and what I’ll leave you with today, is this promise He has for us:

“You will keep in perfect peach those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you. Trust in the LORD forever, for the LORD, the LORD< himself, is the Rock eternal.” – Isaiah 26:3-4

Authentically,

Alex

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