O Lord, be gracious to us, we have waited for Thee (Isaiah 33:2).
Waiting is hard. Any way you look at it. I’ve waited for ten babies, through ten pregnancies. And through each, I knew what I was waiting for. A baby. And sure enough, a baby was born each time. No surprise there. Yet waiting was hard. Excruciating.
I wanted the fruition of the gestation. And then the labor.
The labor was hard. Of course. But the waiting was harder during the gestation. Especially towards the end when I knew we were getting close. I would finally hit a point when I would give up, decide it was never happening, I would be pregnant forever. Especially because all my babies were two to three weeks late. It’s just how I carry, my midwife says. My one that was only 7 days late? I call him early.
So there I would be, 17 days late, 19, and 25. And labor would start. And I would be surprised.
And my surprise would surprise me. What did I think? That the baby would never come? That I would be pregnant forever? Yes.
I guess it’s like that for me in any season of waiting. When God speaks to me to wait, or when He puts it on my heart that it’s a season of waiting, or when circumstances indicate I’ll need to wait a while, I begin with acquiescence.
I can wait. I’ve waited plenty of times in the past. I can do it again. I know how.
It’s simple really. Just do each day what the Lord puts before me. Keep my eyes on Jesus. Live one day at a time. Why add to the trouble each day brings? (Matthew 6:34)
Simple. Just wait. No further instruction needed.
But it’s not simple. It’s awful. Surely there’s something I could do to speed the process.
Seek Jesus. Praise Him. Trust Him. Live each day as He gives it — not in the past, not in the future.
But, Lord, how long? When will this end? Why so much waiting?
Same answer. Seek Him. Praise Him.
Then a surrender. Or am I just giving up? I’ve waited so long, I begin feeling this is my lot in life. I better get used to it.
I praise the Lord. Okay, God. My life is Yours. Do as You see fit. Do what’s best, as You’ve promised. All this waiting must be good for me.
And then, I cycle back to, how long, Lord? I can’t take anymore!
Back and forth I go. That simple waiting is anything but simple.
One thing’s for sure. I do a lot of crying out, a lot of praise, a lot of submission, a lot of surrender. And I grow. I grow in faith, in trust, in humility, in knowing He is God and I am not.
Those are good things. There is purpose in the waiting.
Then, just like babies, God comes. He answers. The waiting ends. a new season begins.
In the blink of an eye.
Surprise!
Your waiting is over. A season of joy has come!
