What about the deeper waiting? When your spirit is longing and praying, and each day nothing seems to change. No shifting. It all just remains the same.
Maybe you are waiting for Mr. or Mrs. "Right." Maybe you are waiting for a financial miracle, or a family miracle. Maybe you are waiting for things to just turn around, get better. What happens to us when the waiting seems to go on and on? We begin to feel discouraged, maybe even depressed. We start to doubt that God cares or even hears our prayers. We welcome doubt and fear as our dear friends, because they are the only ones who seem to understand. We wake up and do this every day until finally, we stop waiting because we truly do not believe anything will change.
Is this you today? Are you struggling with hopelessness, depression, or feeling like you just don't matter enough to God for Him to take action in your circumstances? Well, I am waiting on God for some things, some answers. The transition I am in has gone on longer than I expected. I see faint, slow movement and changes, but the end is still a ways off. I am waiting, and what I believe the Holy Spirit downloaded to me today is the question "How well am I waiting?" You see, we are missing a big part of the Wait. Waiting is not necessarily passive or silent. It's not supposed to be a quiet, somber retreat for me to feel sorry for myself. It's also not a place for me to lash out at everyone in order to make myself feel better. I believe what we really must do is be Actively Waiting.
We have to start at the beginning by remembering what FAITH really is. It's BELIEVING in something we can't see, being certain of something we hope for. Then in James Chapter 2, we read that Faith must be accompanied by deeds or works to be useful. We can't just "say" we have faith...we have to Activate our faith by doing something.
If I am waiting on God for something that I have faith for, then my waiting should be active. The very fact that I say I have faith means I am believing and hoping with certainty. So why the mopey face? Why so downcast, O My Soul? This is a chance for me to wait with expectancy, seeking others to bless them and seeking the presence of Jesus to encourage my soul. Too often, we look to outside sources like food, alcohol, and toxic relationships to soothe the longing and lack of control we are experiencing. Or maybe you are "serving" (code for doing something Christian) everywhere you can to fill a void, when in fact you should be "serving" at home and strengthening those relationships while you are waiting. Oh Snap. All of this misdirected energy provides temporary release, but there is no substitute for applying all we know about the character of God to our wait. Surround yourself with a community of believers, confess your doubts and fears, and then rise up with faith...not faith that you will get what you are waiting for, but faith in WHO God is. Faith that He will not withhold His best from you. Faith that He is FOR YOU, He is WITH YOU. Then, armed with your faith, release it to others and be a blessing. Your faith will be built up, and you will be renewed as the prophet said in Isaiah 40:28-31:
Do you not know? Have you not heard?
The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth.
He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.
He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.
Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall;
but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength
They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
