Waiting

This is another one I posted recently on Facebook...

So…waiting is NOT my strong suit. I even have anxiety about choosing a check-out line in the store. Then once my decision is made, I stand there being irritated that every other line is moving so much faster than mine. My distaste for waiting is only perpetuated by the “instant gratification” world we live in; fast-food, microwaves, phones that we take everywhere with us (that now even have email on them so we don’t have to WAIT until we are at a computer), the “information highway” where we can get answers to most of our questions immediately, etc, etc. We really don’t have to WAIT for much of anything anymore.

However, WAITING is exactly what God is speaking to me about today. I am currently going through a devotional called, “God Calling”. (It’s a great book written back in the 50’s I think, by two individuals who never gave their names…you should check it out…) Part of today’s entry really struck a chord for me; “When you are quiet before Me I lay My Hand upon each head, and Divine Spirit flows through that healing, powerful Touch into your very beings. WAIT in silence before Me to feel that.”

WAITING and being quiet before God does not come easily to me. Let’s be honest here…I struggle a lot of the time even GETTING to prayer, much less just sitting and being quiet before God. Our pastor said yesterday that we need to love God for WHO He is and not just what he does for us. He also said that if we truly LOVE Christ, we will want to spend time with Him. Ouch. When I only come before God with my laundry list of prayer requests…even though they are requests for the good of others and not just what I want or need…and I never sit quietly in expectation of hearing back from Him, aren’t I just using Him? I don’t know about you, but I wouldn’t be very happy if the people in my life who CLAIM they love me only called when they needed something and never gave me a chance to say anything back to them.

So, I am being challenged to WAIT; to be quiet before God and to listen for Him to speak to me. Oh, He speaks to me a lot…but He has to work pretty hard to get through to me…I’m not usually asking Him, “So what’s on Your mind today God? What do You have to say to me, or teach me at this very moment?” As a part of my challenge, I also thought I’d look for the word “wait” in my Bible as it relates to just being quiet and listening for God to speak. I found bunches of them (mostly also in the Old Testament which amuses me since He’s prodding me to learn and read the OT this year…). I’ll send you a list if you’d like, but my favorite is Psalm 5:3; “In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.”

Wait, be quiet and EXPECT to hear from Him. He’s faithful. I have no doubt that He is going to speak to me… Will you wait too?