I have a key to help you in the wait.
I am currently in ‘the wait,’ trusting God for a change and opportunities that will impact the vision and dreams for my life and work. As I wait (sometimes not so patiently), I have knocked on doors that didn’t open. I also walked down a couple of promising-looking paths and realized I wasn’t wearing the right shoes for those rocky paths so I turned around and came back. BIG Sigh!
God recently taught me something new about the word wait.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong, and let your heart take courage;
wait for the Lord! Psalm 27:14
Here is the word wait in Hebrew:
qāvâ- look for, hope, expect, wait eagerly for
I compared the biblical definition to my own waiting behaviors:
- Pacing the floor asking God, “What have I done wrong?”
- Coming up with a new idea and saying, “I’ll try this!”
- I considered throwing in the towel.
I was convicted that my actions didn’t reflect a biblical example of waiting at all. As I sat with Holy Spirit to discuss my dilemma He did some teaching (He’s really good at that.).
He reminded me:
- God is completely aware of ALL things in my life.
- While I wait, I can develop new practices (hope instead of fretting, expectancy in place of doubt).
- As I put the new practices in place, I will mature and be ready WHEN the doors He has for me open wide!
Learning the meaning of one little word has helped me shift my thinking and my habits.
If your waiting behaviors aren’t full of joy and faith, SURRENDER and embrace the wait with hope and expectancy in the character of God.
- Remember what He has done for you in the past.
- Remain in relationship with Him.
- Ask Holy Spirit questions and wait for Him to answer (Don’t ask Him a question and then answer it yourself.).
I had to reset as I waited. In my next blog post, I’ll share how a misalignment in my identity was impacting my wait in a negative way!