Growing up Christmas was my favorite holiday (it still is!) for basically all the wrong reasons. My excitement was never over the birth of Christ but the fact that I would be getting all types of great gifts. Now since I was a very anxious child a couple of weeks before Christmas I would always snoop around the house looking to find one or more of my gifts. And occasionally as luck would have it I found those gifts. One year in my snooping, I found my brand new bike and I was so happy. Immediately I pictured myself riding this bike looking exceptionally cool and having a great time with all my friends. However, that day had to wait because I had at least two more weeks before I could ride it never mind let anyone know I knew it existed. Have you ever felt this way before in Christ? It’s like you know He promised you some cool gifts and maybe He actually showed you what they were but now you are left waiting to see them happen. Well I have been there before and actually I’m there right now and I think as Christians we all are waiting to ride our new bikes. The question now becomes how do we practically wait for these promises not our way but God’s way.
There are tons of scriptures in the Bible that speak on waiting and its benefits. In Psalms we are told to wait on the Lord and take heart have courage and wait. Psalms 27:14. In Isaiah 51:5 we are encouraged to wait on the Lord with hope in His strong arm. Then in Isaiah 40:31 the word instructs us that those who wait upon the Lord shall have renewed strength. All of these scriptures and much more offer us hope in our times of waiting and then encourage us to believe that God is good and He will fulfill his word concerning our lives.
As a lady in waiting, I continually have to remind myself the promises of His word and why I am waiting. With the world and all of its promises I must remain focused as not to stumble into old ways of sin, deception, and compromise. Please let me tell you this has not been easy especially in this season of my life where waiting is essential to my progress. Truthfully, I have never been a good waiter (as you can tell from my Christmas story) and in the past I have allowed fear, worry, and anxiety to take over my good intentions of waiting. But I must conquer this season of waiting with great hope in my heart because the truth is as long as I’m alive I will be waiting for something! So as we continue to venture into this year please ask yourself am I a good waiter? Am I waiting with great expectancy that God will do the thing that I am waiting on? Or alternatively, have I chosen to wait in fear, doubt or contempt because it may be taking longer than I anticipated. Personally, I am choosing to wait with patience believing that God loves me and He only wants the best for my life. The bible says that no good thing will He withhold from them that walk upright before Him, Psalms 84:11
Now since I understand that waiting is not for the faint of heart I have a few tips that the Lord is showing me on how to wait His way:
1) PRAYING without ceasing 1Thessalonians 5:17
2) Cultivating an intimate Relationship with the Lord
3) Getting involved in church ministry or community activities serving as often as I can
4) Having an accountability/prayer partner
5) Continuously renewing my mind with God’s word
6) Living my Life enjoying every day free of fear and worry
Also a few scriptures on waiting, Psalms 27:14, 37:7, 46:10, 130:5-6, 62:1-12,
Isaiah 40:31 & 51:5, Lamentations 3:25, Galatians 6:9
Be Blessed!
