(notice that the definition does not include "wallowing in despair, questioning, or feeling sorry for oneself")
there are at least 50 references to "wait" in the Bible.
"do you have a kid yet?"
"so you're just waiting for the call?"
"what's going on, why don't you have a kid yet?"
"since it's taken this long to get a kid, do you think maybe you heard God wrong?"
i have been waiting for almost 8 weeks now for my first foster placement. if i'm honest, there is a small part of me that wants to ask "really God? you have me waiting on something - again?!" i've done lots of waiting in my lifetime: waiting for the first boy to ask me out, waiting for God to whisper His plans for my life, waiting for my heart to heal, waiting for my future husband to show up. i guess He thinks i'm pretty good at it :)
and i AM pretty good at it. but not because i'm "used to it", not because i've "been there, done that". i am pretty good at it because i know that i serve a God who is faithful to complete the good work He has begun. He is reminding me that when i have waited on Him in the past, He has always - ALWAYS - been faithful. that first boy did ask me out, God did whisper His plans for my life, my heart did heal. so i can be confident and trust that foster babies (and yes, a husband too!) will come. and they will come at just the right time. not when i want them to, but when God needs them to. He is faithful. every. single. time.
i guess what i'm trying to communicate is that there's a RIGHT way to wait, and a WRONG way to wait. and i'm here to tell ya, i have not always chosen the right way - not by a long shot! in the past, i did plenty of wallowing, questioning, and feeling sorry for myself in my times of waiting. but in the present, Jesus has opened my eyes to His truth in the waiting. His Word says time and time again that when i rely on Him in the waiting, i am heard, i am blessed, i experience His goodness, i will not be ashamed, my strength will be renewed, i will receive the glorious things that God has prepared for me. now that's some good stuff! therefore, i will strive to rely on Him in the waiting, and not rely on my feelings. i want to wait in the right way. will i always succeed? probably not. but all i have to do is open the Bible to be reminded of the right way and to walk in it.
It is not yet time for the message to come true,
but that time is coming soon;
the message will come true.
It may seem like a long time,
but be patient and wait for it,
because it will surely come;
it will not be delayed.
Habakkuk 2:3
