Youth Director & Family Ministries

To be completely honest, I am not always the most patient person. I have a tendency to rush things, to get stressed out, to take on more than I can handle in order to get something done. I have never felt the excitement of waiting, only the anxiety. I am noticing it more and more within our world today. What I have noticed is that our perspective on waiting does not necessarily align with the biblical view. Waiting has never been easy. All of those centuries waiting for a Messiah to come, it wasn’t easy for those who have gone before us, but they seemed to be more at peace with it, welcoming the wait with goodness and potential. Even after Jesus had come, the waiting was far from over. We wait as much as ever, called to live in the shadow of His return; and when He does, He will “save those who are eagerly waiting for Him” (Hebrews 9:28). In the Old Testament, the psalmist celebrates waiting patiently for the Lord (Psalm 40:1), and Isaiah promises that those “who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). In these times of waiting, it is important to make sure we check our focus. We have to take the focus off of ourselves and remember that even though we may feel a delay or a pause, God is still working. Waiting is never a waste in God’s economy. So what should we do in the meantime? Well, how do we take the focus off of ourselves and realign our hearts with God? We all know this. We worship, we wait, and we worship. I was listening to an interview the other day and they were talking about how ‘waiting on the Lord’ looks different for everybody. One guy explained it as “the sustained adoration that is filled with subjection waiting for a directive from the Lord” and went on to say that the key to this is remembering that even though we wait, we wait IN His presence; we don’t have to wait FOR His presence. When we worship, we remove ourselves and we are satisfied, fulfilled, blessed with peace, with the joy of His presence. It is unlike anything else. In this time of waiting right now, it doesn’t matter if you are waiting for something, someone, direction, provision, or simply waiting for time to pass. Nothing is wasted. Take the time to collect yourself and realign your heart in worship. I know for me personally, I cannot fully surrender if my mind is elsewhere. If I am worried, doubtful, fearful, scared then it’s just not possible. It is human nature to try to do it ourselves; and we know that no matter how hard we try, we cannot. It’s okay to want something. It’s okay to dream. It’s okay to long. Sure, you’ll get frustrated, anxious, eager; but you’ll continue to be patient. Keep waiting. Keep praying. We can trust God, knowing He is in control of all things and that is more than enough for me.
Grace and Peace,
Rachel