“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.” Psalm 40:1-3
Waiting is never easy.
Have you ever looked up the definition of “wait”? So often when we think of waiting, we just think of this negative space where nothing happens. But to wait for something is so much more than that. It really means to remain stationary in readiness or expectation, to look forward expectantly, and to be ready and available.
Expectant. Available. Ready.
How many of us, rather, feel stagnant, frustrated, idle and hopeless in the waiting rooms of life?
What if we changed our perspective? What if we allowed God to change our perspective? That the waiting in our life instead…was an opportunity for us to pause and get ready?!?
To instead anticipate, be optimistic, prepared and hopeful?
What are you waiting for?
What do you need to begin preparing for and anticipating?
Me?….Well, I was waiting for my diagnosis, surgeries, answers, hope. Now…I’m waiting for the Lord to heal my body from the cancer that has ravaged my lymph nodes. I’m waiting for my hair to fall out, for my chemo to be over, for my life to start again.
But as I have been waiting…the Lord is opening my eyes to His perspective on waiting. It may seem like there are giant pauses in our lives….but our God is working! He never sleeps. He never fails. And He is showing me that this waiting time…is for me to seek Him.
Lamentations 3:22-26 “The steadfast love of the Lord never ceases, his mercies never come to an end; they are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. “The Lord is my portion, ” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Waiting is my time to prepare, to anticipate Him and His workings in my life, to get ready and be hopeful. To be hopeful for what Christ is working together for my good. So…how do we get ready and prepared for Christ in our lives?
Lamentations says it perfectly. It says the Lord is good to those who wait for him….who prepare and are hopeful for him. That He is good to those who wait and seek Him. Do you see that?
While we wait, we SEEK HIM!! We don’t just stop our lives and pause in fear and worry and hopelessness. We dive in to the Word of God and we seek His face! We close our eyes in prayer and get our our knees and we cry out to the Lord. We let go of our anxious Martha ways and we sit in His presence, like Mary, at the feet of Jesus, our Savior and we rest in knowing He is enough for us during this season of waiting.
Are you sitting at the feet of Jesus where you are right now, making ready your heart for what God is preparing for you or are you anxiously worrying over what may or may not come?
Stop waiting and start seeking. You will find Him.
Deut 4:29 “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find him, if you search after him with all your heart and with all your soul.”
Enjoy this beautiful song I discovered today as you seek more of Jesus. Kari Jobe – The More I Seek You w/lyrics – YouTube
For more encouragement on waiting and an update on my cancer journey, watch my youTube Channel- Alissa Perez: Live Differently. https://youtu.be/kkqVjgbfq_o