Seasons of life are connected by seasons of transitions. When God journeys us from point A to point B we get uncomfortable in that waiting period of the ‘what next’.
So, our faith pivots to and fro; from bent knees to stamping feet, from trusting to doubting, from certainty to confusion, from standing strong to hardly standing.
Wondering… Will I ever heal from my loss? Will my health improve? Will my job stay secure? Will my home address change? Will I ever make a difference? Will God make things clear?
We’re not the only ones to wobble through transitions.
The Israelites, while in the process of escaping the Egyptians facing a dead end road, are told to sit still, get some popcorn, and watch God deliver. Okay. I added the popcorn bit, but God truly asked them to ‘be still’, ‘to trust’, ‘to stand firm’ , ‘to not be afraid’, and ‘to see the deliverance of God’.
God’s rescue plan was to take the Israelites from point A to point B; from Egypt (the garlic place) to Canaan (the milk and honey place), from slavery to freedom.
Their good Father had good plans. But, since God had not revealed to them the step-by-step game-plan, they refused to trust it fussing to Moses “Was it because there were no graves in Egypt that you brought us to the desert to die?” (… Humour, or bitterness?)
They had no idea how that terrifying transition would showcase God’s magnificent glory that nations will sing about for thousands of years to come.
How To Wait Well?
Persevere.
You don’t have to like this season, you only need to endure it. Press on knowing that this shall pass as well. “I will send down showers in season; there will be showers of blessings” Ezekiel 34:26
Trust.
Sometimes we wish we had a preview to what’s next, thinking we would handle things better that way.
Praise God we don’t know it all.
If mountain tops are coming up, we might get ahead of ourselves and ruin it all in arrogance. If valleys are next, we would fight out any growing opportunity.
All in due time.
While we long to glimpse at our future, Christ longs to reveal Himself in the RIGHT NOW. Discover more of who He is.
“You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you.” Isaiah 26:3
Be prayerful
Don’t underestimate the power of prayer. God’s ears are never too dull to hear your deepest longing. “The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.” Psalm 145:18
Find gladness.
Allow your heart to find gladness in a gloomy day. Laughter brings healing as the Scripture tells us. Give yourself opportunities to laugh, or at least to smile.
Gladness comes through gratitude. List your blessings even when you feel like there’s none.
“Therefore my heart is glad and my tongue rejoices; my body also will rest secure…” Psalm 16:9
Stay wise.
Don’t intrude on God’s territory when things are too slow.
Abraham and Sarah intervened on God’s behalf just in case God had forgotten about His promise to make them parents. “… so she (Sarah) said to Abram, “The Lord has kept me from having children. Go, sleep with my slave; perhaps I can build a family through her.”…
The end result? “Then Sarai said to Abram, ‘You are responsible for the wrong I am suffering. I put my slave in your arms, and now that she knows she is pregnant, she despises me.’… (Ishmael ) will be a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone’s hand against him…” Genesis 16
When you get antsy in the waiting, remember that it’s too risky to take over for God.
Stay worshipful.
Even in the waiting, we are expected to worship.
Aaron and the Israelites waited in boredom for Moses to come down from the Mount Sinai to give them further instructions from God. So they built a golden calf to worship instead, because it took longer than expected.
How did that work out? “And the Lord struck the people with a plague because of what they did with the calf Aaron had made.” Exodus 32:35
Stay calm
When tempted to get angry at God for waiting much, let’s simply remember that He’s waiting on us all the time to get our life together, and to stay committed to Him. “Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Isaiah 30:18
Stay open-hearted
I have a friend who loves to journal her prayers. In a season of waiting and seeking of what’s next, she decided to leave a blank page in her diary, telling God “I’ll leave this page unwritten, so YOU can write on it”.
We all pray for God to move us from the ‘garlic place’ to the ‘milk & honey place’. As we do so, let’s leave a wordless page in our diary so God can write on it, just as He fingered the ten commandments on the stone tablets.
As we wait, our Lord may, or may not split the waters for us to walk through as He did for His people. Either way, let’s take the risk to trust Him completely as our story unfolds.
Let’s wait well, and wobble no more.
Read & Memorize: Proverbs 3:5-6
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.”