 | We are all familiar with the word waiting. It seems that we have to wait all of the time whether in grocery lines, fast food lines, or DMV lines. Lines, lines, everywhere are lines that require us to wait. Some people are great at waiting and use it as an opportunity to chat with others who are waiting as well. I envy those people because, they are not me. Usually I think that my sense of urgency is greater than theirs and waiting in a line is a waste of my time. |
For months, I have been experiencing a different kind of waiting. The waiting on God kind of waiting. How many of us are waiting for God to reveal to us a greater purpose? Or give us answers about our futures at work, in life or even in ministry. Many people are trying to find the answer to what God’s greater purpose might be. People often say that God will reveal things in “God’s time” or when the time is right. What does that even mean? How long do I have to wait for God’s time to happen? What this time of contemplation has taught me is that “waiting” and “God’s timing” are tied together. I know I am an impatient “waiter” so making this connection has not been easy for me. I am a very task-oriented person who likes to get things done. My focus generally is on getting this “waiting” thing done with so I can do something more important. Which is exactly why I have needed to slow down and wait for God to reveal the answers to my questions.
What does it mean to wait? I have discovered recently, waiting is not wasting time or energy. It is a time of solitude and reflection to reset my life for God’s purpose and not my own. I have read that if we do not slow down and spend some time waiting; God cannot transform us for what lies ahead. I really like how the author states that God transforms us from the inside out. This time of waiting helps to bring my experiences, knowledge, heart and faith into alignment to grow into a deeper place with trusting God. This resetting process is slow and painstaking but it helps me to learn how to respond to the unknown rather than react or run back to my comfort zone.
The past couple of mornings during my devotion and prayer time, I have had a reoccurring thought. It was quite simple. “The Lord is in his holy temple.” The phrase was familiar and I knew it was part of a biblical text so I looked it up or at least I asked Siri on my iPhone to look it up. It comes from the obscure book of Habakkuk 2:20, which says, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent.” So there is was, a direction to be still and honor God. Of course I wanted to know what led up to the prophet writing this text and discovered the preceding verses describe at length the wicked behavior of Israel and the “woes” of what would happen as a result of their disobedience. The writer ends the chapter with the focus on honoring God in silence. In essence, Israel needed time to be still and wait on God to press the reset button and get back into alignment with God’s will rather than their self-destructive behavior. Like Israel, waiting gives us time to quiet our lives and allow God to transform us or reset us from the inside out so that we hear when our next step is being revealed. What are you waiting for?
What does it mean to wait? I have discovered recently, waiting is not wasting time or energy. It is a time of solitude and reflection to reset my life for God’s purpose and not my own. I have read that if we do not slow down and spend some time waiting; God cannot transform us for what lies ahead. I really like how the author states that God transforms us from the inside out. This time of waiting helps to bring my experiences, knowledge, heart and faith into alignment to grow into a deeper place with trusting God. This resetting process is slow and painstaking but it helps me to learn how to respond to the unknown rather than react or run back to my comfort zone.
The past couple of mornings during my devotion and prayer time, I have had a reoccurring thought. It was quite simple. “The Lord is in his holy temple.” The phrase was familiar and I knew it was part of a biblical text so I looked it up or at least I asked Siri on my iPhone to look it up. It comes from the obscure book of Habakkuk 2:20, which says, “The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be silent.” So there is was, a direction to be still and honor God. Of course I wanted to know what led up to the prophet writing this text and discovered the preceding verses describe at length the wicked behavior of Israel and the “woes” of what would happen as a result of their disobedience. The writer ends the chapter with the focus on honoring God in silence. In essence, Israel needed time to be still and wait on God to press the reset button and get back into alignment with God’s will rather than their self-destructive behavior. Like Israel, waiting gives us time to quiet our lives and allow God to transform us or reset us from the inside out so that we hear when our next step is being revealed. What are you waiting for?
RSS Feed