Psalm 27:14 says, " Wait for the Lord: be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." This is a hard verse especially at 3am when you have been waiting on the Lord to help you sleep. He must have a different plan for these wee hours of the morning, so that is why I am at my computer. My house is quiet, the outside is quiet, so I wait, wait on the Lord in the quiet silliness of my house but not necessarily the quiet stillness of my heart.
My heart has been waiting longer than just tonight on God. Maybe that's why I haven't written since December, the waiting has gotten to me. God must of know that my heart would become weary because not only did he keep me awake on this night but my quiet time with Him yesterday was all on waiting. As I reflect and share my thoughts on waiting, maybe God will break His stillness and my season of waiting will be removed and I can step into a season of receiving.
What does wait mean? The dictionary defines waiting as, "the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens." Waiting is a verb, an action word that we must do. It's not a passive word that leaves us uninvolved but requires us to act with God's lead. Let's expand on the definition and add biblical mean to waiting. We are not the first people in time to have to wait on God and we will not be the last.
The Hebrew word for wait/waiting is Qavah (KA-vah). This is the verb for of waiting. This form of wait/waiting is not the sit-around-and-twiddle-your-thumbs kind of waiting, but the kind of waiting that’s referred to in Isaiah 40:31: “Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength.” It’s waiting with an expectant, patient, enduring hope. Patience and hope are two very necessary elements to waiting, waiting that produce fruit and that does not return void. What does patience and hope really to mean through the eyes of the bible?
Patience is defined in the dictionary as, " the ability to endure difficult circumstances such as perseverance in the face of delay; tolerance of provocation without responding in annoyance/anger; or forbearance when under strain, especially when faced with longer-term difficulties. Patience is the level of endurance one can have before negativity. It is also used to refer to the character trait of being steadfast and long suffering." Galatians 5:22 says that one of the nine fruit of the Spirit is "long suffering" and the Greek translation defines long suffering as patience. Have you ever caught yourself question God's timing or crying out to Him when He takes "too" long? Have you ever asked Him how much longer till you finally come through for me? God expects these questions because patience can only be developed during long and excruciating periods of delay. Trust me this is WAY easier said than done, but if I can achieve patience then I am fully resting in Him and trusting in Him.
James 1:4 But let patience have her perfect work...
Psalms 37:7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him
1Peter 5:7 Casting all your cares upon him; for he cares for you.
Hope is defined as looking forward to a favorable result with expectation and confidence. The Hebrew word qavah (wait) is sometimes translated “hope” or “look expectantly;” We can believe for our promised land because of the faithful track record from the One who promised. Therefore, to get our expected end, our hope and trust must be in him and not the person, thing or event we are hoping for. If you notice, trust was also linked to patience. Our ability to wait patiently and hopeful is part of trusting in God HIs word and the promises written. Will you trust Him in the hard place of waiting?
Laminations 3:24 The LORD is my portion; therefore, will I hope/wait in him.
Jeremiah 29:11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says the LORD, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end.
Psalms 62:5 My soul, waits only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
If you stop hoping you will stop waiting. If you stop being patient, you will stop waiting. If you stop waiting because of impatience and hopelessness, you then forfeit the future God has planned for you. Waiting brings us full circle into the arms of God because it means that we must rest in him to obtain patience to wait and we must trust in him to obtain the hope to wait.
Be patient and don't quit. Have hope and don't doubt. The wait will eventually get you out with all God had instore for you. In the waiting pray, worship, and don't stop trusting !
Good stuff!!