Waiting, Waiting, Waiting

Waiting is one of my least favorite things. I don't like waiting in line at the store, waiting in traffic, or waiting for everyone to get to van to leave for church on Sunday mornings. I'm already finding that I'm tired of waiting on our house to sell and it's barely been on the market. I'm a very impatient person. Lately I've been doing a lot of waiting; waiting on doctor's to call with test results, waiting on doctors to send referrals, waiting for appointments to be scheduled, waiting on my back to heal while waiting for the house to sell. Waiting, waiting, waiting.

And yet it seems that much of life is waiting. I've been challenged lately to put my trust in the Lord as I wait. All this waiting has prompted me consider what the Word has to say about the subject. A quick look in my concordance pointed me to some interesting verses about waiting.

Psalm 27: 13-14 - "I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be, strong, and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 130: 5-6 - "I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning."

Isaiah 30:18 - "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him."

So I am to be strong and take heart while waiting. Those things don't seem to really go together. I am to wait more than a watchmen waits for the morning. The watchmen are probably pretty certain that the morning will come as it has come every morning of their lives - so we are to wait with great expectancy. Waiting can be an active experience. There is blessing promised by a gracious, compassionate, and just God for those who wait. That's quite a promise.

So I guess maybe waiting isn't such a bad thing. And in the midst of waiting I will continue to serve the Lord with my life - praising Him, loving Him and loving those He's placed in my life. Doesn't sound so bad after all. But don't expect me to start enjoying waiting in traffic anytime soon.