In my opinion, wait is an unpleasant, counterproductive, four-letter word.
I don’t like to wait. I don’t want to wait. I don’t like to be idle. I want to be productive and busy. And I want to see results…NOW.
I confess, countless times over the years, I have wrestled with the Lord about His failure to act in my desired timing. Not once, no matter how much I pleaded – or demanded – did He ever change His perfect plan to accommodate my schedule, or my whining.
I clearly remember the first time the Lord called me out on my impatient, haughty attitude. At the time, I was the executive assistant to the Commanding and Executive Officers of a naval command. I controlled and managed both of their schedules. Whenever I called, a manager was quick to respond and comply with my request. I had been praying about an issue and was not happy about the Lord not responding to my request, in my timing. I was quite put-out. Right smack in the middle of the busy front office, He spoke to my heart: “Miss Bossy-Britches, while you do control the CO’s and XO’s schedule, you do not control Mine; I control yours!” Well, ouch. You’d think that moment would have forever resolved, and changed, my perspective on my wait-issues.
However, it was several years later, in the midst of my lamenting about waiting on the Lord to answer a specific prayer, my mentor-in-the-faith stopped me mid-sentence. She quoted Habakkuk 2:1:
I will stand at my guard post and station myself on the lookout tower. I will watch to see what He will say to me and what I should reply about my complaint.
She challenged me to go into my watchtower and wait to see what the Lord was going to do…because it was going to be good, very good!
Somewhat reluctantly, I went into my watchtower. And I waited. While waiting in my watchtower, my perception began to change. I made the conscious decision to trust in the Lord with all my heart, not lean on my own understanding and acknowledge Him in all of my ways (Proverbs 3:5-6). I realized that no matter how idle things appear from my viewpoint, the Lord is actively at work in my life and in all situations.
I now reside fulltime in my watchtower. Truth be told, occasionally, I will venture out, either in blatant disobedience or in an attempt to try to help the Lord resolve an issue. Thankfully, I am usually quick to recognize the error in my ways and return, humbly, to my watchtower.
Currently, I am in a season of wait on many different things. Not all are desperate and not all are difficult. Recently, when my impatience threatened to emerge, I looked for assurance that the Lord was at work in my life. My search led me to the book of Psalms where I read verse after verse of God’s faithful promises. IF I trust Him and IF I seek Him with a surrendered, willing heart and attitude, then He will:
· Shield me and lift my head. (Psalm 3:3)
· Hear me when I call. (Psalm 4:3)
· Receive my prayer. (Psalm 6:9)
· Maintain my just cause. (Psalm 9:4)
· Make Himself known to me. (Psalm 9:16)
· Strengthen my heart. (Psalm 10:17)
· Deal bountifully with me. (Psalm 13:6)
· Keep me as the apple of His eye. (Psalm 17:8)
· Be the shield of my salvation and uphold me with His right hand. (Psalm 18:35)
· Restore my soul. (Psalm 19:7)
· Make wise the simple. (Psalm 19:7; 119:130)
· Instruct me in the way I should go. (Psalm 25:12; 32:8)
· Shine His face upon me. (Psalm 31:16; 67:1; 80:3; 119:135)
· Hide me in His secret place. (Psalm 31:20)
· Be near to my brokenhearted and crushed spirit. (Psalm 34:18)
· Establish my footsteps. (Psalm 37:23)
· Make my steps firm. (Psalm 40:2)
· Put a new song in my mouth. (Psalm 40:3)
· Preserve me with His truth. (Psalm 40:11)
· Create in me a new heart and renew within me a steadfast spirit. (Psalm 51:10)
· Sustain my soul. (Psalm 54:4)
· Accomplish what concerns me. (Psalm 57:2; 138:8)
· Recompense me according to my work. (Psalm 62:12)
· Not allow my feet to slip. (Psalm 66:9)
· Confirm the work of my hands. (Psalm 90:17)
· Guard me in all my ways. (Psalm 91:11; 121:8)
· Satisfy my thirsty soul. (Psalm 107:9)
· Teach me discernment and knowledge. (Psalm 119:66)
· Make me wiser than my enemies. (Psalm 119:98)
· Lead me in the everlasting way. (Psalm 139:24)
· Teach me to do His will. (Psalm 143:10)
And there are so many, many more of His promises written in His Word!
So, as I wait expectantly in my watchtower, I am confident that, as promised in Psalm 25:4 and as part of His perfect plan and in His perfect timing, He will make His ways known to me.
In the morning, O Lord, You will hear my voice; in the morning,
I will order my prayer to You and watch eagerly. - Psalm 5:3