He asked me to wait;
I was sitting, waiting
I was waiting, hoping
I had nothing doing
So there I was sitting
All I did was looking
All in the name of waiting
Maybe a little dreaming
Maybe a little trying
While I was in waiting.

I’m sure every believer has had to experience “Waiting” on the Lord. It may mean different things to different people. Even to the same person, it may carry different meanings at different points in times in their lives. What does waiting on God mean to you?

Dictionary defines wait as a time we are inactive pending when what we are expecting happens. That transition time between hope and the realization of our expectation, knowing it is just around the corner. We have paid the price and are now at the door, awaiting the delivery of the promise. It shouldn’t be a time for activities otherwise we get distracted and miss the delivery. Still, if we just sit there and mope in the name of waiting, we are bound to slip into ease, fall sleep, and possibly miss the delivery. This time and what we do with it is critical.

When we are waiting for God, it means we are not running along with what we know and what we think. We are suspending actions on what we want, an expression of our trust toward God through obedience as we look to Him alone, to provide direction on what we need to be about. It is a choice, to ignore all that is calling and competing for our attention so we can zero in on God and His leading. The choice, to let go what we can and what we’d rather be doing, to let God communicate what He would have us do. What He may be asking us to do at such times may not be much but it’s all we need, to conserve energy for what is to come. To keep us engaged enough without being distracted by too much or falling asleep for too little. And to get us ready for what is about to be. Yet, it can be the toughest times and doing that little can be the hardest thing for us because we derive a lot from much doing. This is the place where the Scripture, “Obedience is better than sacrifice,” is so spot on!

At that point, all God is asking is not for what we have and what we can, those have already been proven through our journey of faith on that matter. Now, all He is asking is our obedience: will you wait when I say so? Will you do nothing when you can do a lot because that’s all I ask? Can you sit still for My sake? Can you just listen?  Do you trust Me enough to know that I am doing something though it appears like nothing is happening? Can you accept that I don’t need your help at this point, that I am able to do what needs to be done to get you through this time? Can you just be a child and let me be Your Father? Can you just follow and do only as I say, trusting that I will do as I have promised? Do you believe that I can finish this without your help? Can you sit and watch me do what You can’t? We can either choose to respond to His questions in surrendered obedience or by devising our own activities to occupy slowly-crawling-waiting time. Don’t forget that choices carry consequences. May God show you how He wants you to wait on Him, and may you obedience be complete. Amen.

Glory!