Lately, I have had many conversations with people who are finding themselves in a place of waiting. All with different circumstances. Some waiting on life to be birthed, some waiting for the suffering to end, or for a promise to come to fruition. I, too, am waiting. In several areas, I am waiting. But, in the waiting I have found this exhilaration. An exhilaration that is bound up with belief that He who has spoken to my heart will bring it to pass. You see, I remember that it was by His Word that that all things were created! In Genesis 1, the words that are most repeated are... "Then God said... and it was good." He spoke it and it came into being. He was not commenting on what was already, He was speaking the universes into being. Creating all things new. Making something of nothing! God is good; therefore, the work of His hands is good, all that He speaks into existence is good. And so then, if He has spoken to you about things not yet seen, you can bet your bottom dollar that it's already in the making because it is by His very voice that things are created. You can rest about it and trust that it will be good, because He is good!
By faith we understand that the universe was formed by God's command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible. Hebrews 11:3 For He spoke, and it was done; He commanded, and it stood fast. Psalm 33:9-11
Romans 10:17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God. Hebrews 11:1 Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.17 So then faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the word of God.
Max Lucado put it this way, "Patience is the red carpet on which God's grace approaches us."Man! That's it. Life is still happening all around me and I am totally engaged in the present. All the while, one eye lifts every now and again to check things out, looking for a glimpse of that promise. I patiently wait. My heart begins to race a little with excitement when I see things that even slightly resemble a foreshadowing of what my Father has. In the midst of the waiting, when things can seem unshakably mundane, the butterflies of anticipation for what my good Father has for me make their presence known from time to time. And I wait. My flesh may cry out for me to move this way or that, but experience has taught me that stepping ahead of God is more often than not either a step in the wrong direction or two steps back. He is faithful to remind me that the consequences of independence is independence. With that, I shrink back to the shadow of His wing and wait for His cue. I'm learning that cue can look different at different times. Sometimes it is as evident as gaping wide French doors opened to the next opportunity. Other times, he has taught me that the open door he has set before me of which no one can close is but a crack with space enough to place one foot in. But, as I respond to His beckoning of that hesitant foot of mine to move into that space, I find a door that swings wide open for me. A cracked door is not a closed door. It's intently placed in such a position to keep unintended ones out as it lays wait for the one it was left open for. The brave one who is willing to trust the Father and enter in His perfect timing will receive the full measure of what's one the other side.
I imagine that's what Mary felt like as she and Joseph raised Jesus. One eye on him, one eye on the world around them searching for a glimpse of how this child, this boy, this teen could possibly be Messiah. I liken it to the feeling of the young woman in waiting as her love looks her in the eye and drops to one knee asking her to permission to love her as Christ loves the church. Or, that moment he stands at the alter anxiously waiting for the church doors to swing wide that he might finally see his bride in all her splendor approaching him for the start of their new lives together... that kind of waiting. It's a bit excruciating and exhilarating all at the same time. But when it comes to pass...it is worth it.
Don't we want the more beautiful story. Not the one that's cut short by impatience and self-indulgence, but the one that holds out for God's best. We'll always fall short and cheat ourselves doing it our way. But God's way is always supreme and worth the wait.
May you "roll out the red carpet of patience" with full expectancy for His grace to come walking your direction with the fulfillment of all He has promised. May you keep the edge of your seat warm as you sit with the exhilarating anticipation of His cue for you to move forward! May the thrill of the wait and your trust in the Father carry you until the appointed time. When it comes, may you walk it out with wisdom and dignity giving all glory to the Father!
Worship Him while you wait. What better way to spend your time!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r49V9QcYheQ, "Take Courage," Kristene DiMarco
Psalm 39:7
But now, Lord, what do I look for? My hope is in you.
Habakuk 2:2
3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.
Isaiah 43:19
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert.
Comentarios