One of the hardest things to do is “wait”. Waiting doesn’t sound like a faith word, or even a word that demonstrates believing God. Waiting almost seems to have a faltering connotation, like what one would do at those times when one has no idea what else to do.
“To wait” >> “to remain inactive or in a state of repose, until something expected happens” (dictionary.com).
There are times in life when we are confronted with a circumstance or difficulty in which we have no idea what we are to do. And like Moses, we must remind ourselves:
"But Moses said to the people, “Do not fear!
Stand by and see the salvation of the Lord
which He will accomplish for you today.”
(Exodus 14:13, NASB)
There it is – Wait. Wait until something happens. Faith says, “Wait. Stand firm.” Our feelings often tell us otherwise:
- Discouragement says, “Throw in the towel. Give up. What’s the use?”
- Impatience says, “Do something! Why waste time? Take the bull by the horns.“
- Pride says, “You’re savvy. You know what to do. You don’t need anyone. Just go with what you know.”
- Fear says, “This is too hard. You’re too weak. You have no idea what will happen if you try.”
And to each of these, our faith says, “Stand firm and watch the Lord rescue you today.”
The Israelites panicked when they saw the Egyptians bearing down on them, ready to overtake them. In their panic, they forgot all God had already done to get them out of Egypt.
But one person at least had not forgotten.
Moses remembered all God had done, and he knew to apply what he had learned to this current crisis of faith. Moses had no idea what God was going to do. But in this one statement of faith, he declared his confidence in God before the people.
Waiting is not a hesitancy at all. It is not an idleness but actually an action. It takes strength to restrain oneself from jumping and doing every idea which comes into our heads. It takes believing in God to do something on our behalf, which results in an ability to be calm and stand firm.
When we stand firm, we don’t default to our feelings, our fears or suggestions from others. In standing firm, we wait in expectancy upon our God to do something, to direct us to action, or to tell us to move.
May we stand firm and wait on our God.
Reflection:
In your current circumstances, what would it take for you to stand firm and wait on God?
You are so right - to wait on God is not an idle action. I think this is one of my favorite concepts - because it so surprised and changed my life. The most important part of living is in the faith wait of a prayer sent out. We are to wait, yet live fully, not holding our breath until the prayer is answered - but to live fully in that wait. Only God could have designed such a kind of wait.
ReplyDeleteMaryleigh, I often remind myself that "wait" is a verb. It's an action. You are so right in adding we are to live fully in the wait. It is living fully as we wait that we learn to trust God and our faith grows. So grateful you shared!
DeleteWaiting is hard to do in our instant society. We have so much at our fingertips. Yet God puts us in a position to wait. So many people in the Bible faced such long waits. We have to rest in God's perfect timing and provision.
ReplyDeleteWe really have become an instant society. We are going to need to fight against the temptation to be impatient and truly learn to trust Him, rest in Him, and wait for His time.
DeleteJoanne, this is so good. Waiting on the Lord is so important. May we stand firm, wait on God, and trust in Him.
ReplyDelete