"While I'm Waiting"
(by John Waller)
This theme of waiting has come up several times over the past week or so, which leads me to the conclusion that God is trying to tell me something! I honestly don't feel that I've been impatiently waiting for something lately, but I know I've felt it in the past. I also know that I can't ignore a repetitive message from the Word of God ~ so if this isn't for me, then maybe it's for YOU!
It began last Sunday, when our pastor started a new series where he is preaching through the book of Nehemiah. I actually read it recently, so I thought it was kinda cool to get a little of somebody else's perspective on the book! While I like to actually study when I read the Bible, I usually just focus on certain verses & explore words that stand out to me. I also like to look at other verses that are referenced in my footnotes & stuff like that. But I don't usually look into history & such, which I'm now realizing can make quite a difference in understanding things! Anyways, Nehemiah learned of his people's need & was burdened for them. He spent four months waiting, praying & preparing before asking the king's permission to go help his people. When I read those verses initially, I had no idea what the months [Kislev & Nisan] meant & how long he waited. He waited four months! But he didn't just wait. He prayed and prepared.
I'm currently involved in a Bible study by Lysa TerKeurst called, "Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl". We have barely begun, & I have already been pounded with the words "waiting" & "preparation" over and over again. We looked at the life of David, and when he was anointed as king. Something I never really thought about before was the fact that after he was anointed, he went back out in the fields! {Seriously?! If I was anointed as king, I would SO not settle for being a shepherd anymore!} Though we don't know his response, we do know that he went back into the fields and waited. And while he waited, God was preparing him. To save his flock, he killed a lion and a bear ~ which not only prepared him to face the giant, it also gave him the confidence that God would save him from the giant (1 Sam. 17:34-37).
In my personal Bible reading last week, the word "waiting" came up again in Genesis 40-41. When Joseph was in prison he had interpreted a couple of dreams (for the king's cup-bearer & baker), and he had to wait there another two full years before the cup-bearer remembered to say something to Pharaoh (who then proceeded to release him from prison)! As if the guy hadn't been waiting long enough, anyways...he had the prophetic dreams about his brothers when he was 17 (in Gen. 37), and they weren't fulfilled for at least 20 years (in Gen. 42)! That's a long time to wait for a promise, don't you think?
There are many other examples of waiting in the Bible, but those are the scenarios that have been brought to my attention lately. The point is: it happened a lot then, and it happens a lot now! And if I can be honest with you, I don't like to wait. I'm not so good at it, and I'm quite impatient during the process! I look ahead to some exciting thing & sometimes overlook the simple thing He has called me to do right now. But how different would life be if I viewed these times of waiting as preparation? If I chose to pray and seek God (instead of stomping my foot & being impatient), might it give Him a chance to prepare me for the future? If nothing else, might it allow me to know Him better? Maybe it'll make me more faithful to Him, and I won't doubt Him so easily. Maybe it'll open my eyes to ways that I could serve Him while I wait.
Are you waiting for something? If not for something specific, are you maybe waiting for something more exciting? If so, please join me in seeking Him while I wait, remaining faithful in what He asks me to do today.
This theme of waiting has come up several times over the past week or so, which leads me to the conclusion that God is trying to tell me something! I honestly don't feel that I've been impatiently waiting for something lately, but I know I've felt it in the past. I also know that I can't ignore a repetitive message from the Word of God ~ so if this isn't for me, then maybe it's for YOU!
It began last Sunday, when our pastor started a new series where he is preaching through the book of Nehemiah. I actually read it recently, so I thought it was kinda cool to get a little of somebody else's perspective on the book! While I like to actually study when I read the Bible, I usually just focus on certain verses & explore words that stand out to me. I also like to look at other verses that are referenced in my footnotes & stuff like that. But I don't usually look into history & such, which I'm now realizing can make quite a difference in understanding things! Anyways, Nehemiah learned of his people's need & was burdened for them. He spent four months waiting, praying & preparing before asking the king's permission to go help his people. When I read those verses initially, I had no idea what the months [Kislev & Nisan] meant & how long he waited. He waited four months! But he didn't just wait. He prayed and prepared.
I'm currently involved in a Bible study by Lysa TerKeurst called, "Becoming More than a Good Bible Study Girl". We have barely begun, & I have already been pounded with the words "waiting" & "preparation" over and over again. We looked at the life of David, and when he was anointed as king. Something I never really thought about before was the fact that after he was anointed, he went back out in the fields! {Seriously?! If I was anointed as king, I would SO not settle for being a shepherd anymore!} Though we don't know his response, we do know that he went back into the fields and waited. And while he waited, God was preparing him. To save his flock, he killed a lion and a bear ~ which not only prepared him to face the giant, it also gave him the confidence that God would save him from the giant (1 Sam. 17:34-37).
In my personal Bible reading last week, the word "waiting" came up again in Genesis 40-41. When Joseph was in prison he had interpreted a couple of dreams (for the king's cup-bearer & baker), and he had to wait there another two full years before the cup-bearer remembered to say something to Pharaoh (who then proceeded to release him from prison)! As if the guy hadn't been waiting long enough, anyways...he had the prophetic dreams about his brothers when he was 17 (in Gen. 37), and they weren't fulfilled for at least 20 years (in Gen. 42)! That's a long time to wait for a promise, don't you think?
There are many other examples of waiting in the Bible, but those are the scenarios that have been brought to my attention lately. The point is: it happened a lot then, and it happens a lot now! And if I can be honest with you, I don't like to wait. I'm not so good at it, and I'm quite impatient during the process! I look ahead to some exciting thing & sometimes overlook the simple thing He has called me to do right now. But how different would life be if I viewed these times of waiting as preparation? If I chose to pray and seek God (instead of stomping my foot & being impatient), might it give Him a chance to prepare me for the future? If nothing else, might it allow me to know Him better? Maybe it'll make me more faithful to Him, and I won't doubt Him so easily. Maybe it'll open my eyes to ways that I could serve Him while I wait.
Are you waiting for something? If not for something specific, are you maybe waiting for something more exciting? If so, please join me in seeking Him while I wait, remaining faithful in what He asks me to do today.
Comments
This Sunday another couple joined the church. I sat in my pew crying, wondering when it would be my turn. When will the scales fall off my husband's eyes and he'll see his need for God?
Sometimes its tempting just to accept our situation as the way it will always be. But that's not good enough. For me or for God.
I also LOVE that the Fireproof scenes were in this video. Based on some other things on Sunday, I decided to do the "Love Dare" again. Today is day 1!
that was a great post -thanks for the honesty and encouragement. :)
*That is a counselor word! See, I am using my counseling degree!