In the Meantime...What to Do While Waiting

Let's face it; none of us likes to wait. In this day of microwaves, high-speed internet, and jumbo jets, we want everything we need, ask for, or desire in an instant. Delayed gratification? What's that? An ancient term to some.

But life remains full of waiting: long lines at WalMart (can't they open another lane?), hours in the doctor's waiting room (why did I need to schedule an appointment, then?), adoption approvals, healing, employment in the midst of unemployment, financial breakthrough, spiritual breakthrough. You name it, someone is probably waiting on it.

Why? Because God has His own timing, and it's perfect. We chew our fingernails and pull out our hair, panicking in our boats of life because Jesus seems to be sleeping on it. Yet, His word says to wait and have faith.

"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

~ Psalm 27:14

So, what does one do while waiting on the Lord? If you're like me, you have a difficult time sitting still. My brain runs at 100 miles-per-minute. Waiting in one place is awkward and uncomfortable. I must have something to do in the meantime.

5 Things to Do While Waiting

Pray. Read. These would seem obvious to some. However, when we get busy with life, we tend to forget the simple things. By praying, we can hear direction from the Lord. We may be waiting for one thing, while God's trying to move us toward another. Reading His Word can also give us that direction.

Study. Be an intern or learn from a mentor. There are things I want in life that I would have no clue in and of myself how to gain them or maintain them. The only way I can ever see these dreams come to pass is if I study how to do so. While I wait for God's perfect timing, I can be reading, learning, and putting myself into a position for the dream to become a reality.

Practice. Violinists don't become prodigies overnight. Writers don't write best-sellers the first time they put a pen to paper. It takes practice to become what God is calling you to be. While you wait to paint the historical masterpiece, pick up the watercolors and the brush. Have some fun and become good at what you do, in the meantime.

Pay attention to the game. Football players don't sit back and relax on the bench during a game. They have to keep their head in it, focusing on what's happening on the field, what their teammates are doing. Why? Because they never know when the coach is going to call them into the game. In order for the team to be successful enough to win it, they have to know what's going on and be ready to jump in, picking up where their teammate left off.

Live in the moment. Don't regret the mistakes of the past. They make us who we are today. Those experiences taught us what works and what doesn't. Don't jump ahead to the future, either. Keep your eye on the horizon and what's to come. But, don't miss what God has in store for you today because you want tomorrow to arrive already. There are things in today that you and I need in order for tomorrow to come as God intended it to. Look for them. Cherish them. In doing so, you'll be living life in abundance.

A Word for Today

Photo Copyright 2010 Alycia W. Morales

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the Lord
In the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the Lord! Psalm 27:13-14

I don't know who's going through a rough time right now, who wishes God would answer faster than He is, who needs to make a decision today and doesn't know what to do, or who is struggling with their faith. 

But, God says to wait on Him. Have hope. Believe you'll see the goodness of God in your life. Don't make a rash decision or go with your emotions. Be courageous enough to wait it out. God will provide in His perfect timing. Be encouraged. Wait on the Lord!

I had to share this today. It came up in my daily reading, and God wants to let y'all know that He is working things out for the good in your life.

Waiting on Change

In 1997, God made it clear I owned a root of bitterness. Deep down inside of me, somewhere, it hid beneath years of spiritual growth. Not good spiritual growth. Bad spiritual growth. All those sins of my past buried themselves deep in my heart, causing me to take on a biting tone when I spoke, a sarcastic attitude, a rebellious nature and probably more.

Photo Courtesy of Kevin Connors

 I understood God forgave me of all those sins. I also understood I would grow a bit crooked (like this tree) if I didn't allow the bitter root to be removed and a fresh one planted. 

"that  Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith; that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may be able to comprehend with all the saints what is the width and length and depth and height - to know the love of Christ which passes knowledge; that you may be filled with all the fullness of God."
- Ephesians 3:17-19

God loved me so much He wanted me to be aware of my dark place and to bring it into the light of His love. He wanted me to become rooted and grounded in His love, not my past mistakes.

Photo Courtesy of Sebastian Santana

I spent the next few months rooting out the issue within me. Through time in prayer, worship, thanksgiving, receiving counsel, and reading Scripture, holy surgery began to take place. 

Over time, people began to identify the change. My parents began to say how light my once sharp tone had become. My husband-to-be (we weren't engaged yet) pointed out he'd noticed a difference in my spirit. 

God worked as I waited. God made changes one scalpel cut at a time. Despite my wishes, change didn't come overnight. It came in God's perfect timing.

As easy as it would be to quit trying to change, I continued to work at it. I never gave up hope that one day I would be more like the new man mentioned in the Scriptures and less like the one I'd wanted to leave behind.

"...He who has begun a good work in you will complete it until the day of Jesus Christ." - Philippians 1:6

God changed my heart and removed that root of bitterness over time. I might not be perfect or complete, but when Jesus comes, God will bring all of His work in me to completion.

Do you look forward to the day God's work is complete in you? Don't quit. Don't give up. Hang on to the promise of God and know that He is working a change in you even now.