This morning I stood in the door frame waiting for our 16-year-old daughter to get situated and pull out of the garage on her first day of school this year. She didn't need my help. I didn't have anything more to say or encourage or suggest. But she looked to see if I was watching. She just wanted to know I was there.
Many, many times over the years God has worked to teach me the value of waiting and this morning, I realized why waiting is so difficult. It's difficult because of me.
If I wait things may not turn out the way I want them. If I wait, I am not doing the thing I want to do, I'm doing what someone else wants to do. When I wait, I rarely see an immediate benefit, which is generally annoying, irritating, frustrating--especially if I haven't "agreed" to wait (i.e. the "shortest" line at the grocery store which takes the longest amount of time).
But waiting expresses value--a confidence, an affection. It is the giving of me for you; my way for yours. It is submission to the will of another. It is beautiful. It is Christlike. It is the way of God. No matter the circumstance, I am ultimately waiting on God. Whether I'm waiting for Him to move the line or give wisdom or answer a prayer, my willingness to wait and depend on Him is the way of Christ. It is an echo of His prayer, "Not my will, but thine be done."
What are you waiting for? Is your heart quieted and content in the lap of God? Or are you clamoring for more?
"O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever." Psalm 131
Many, many times over the years God has worked to teach me the value of waiting and this morning, I realized why waiting is so difficult. It's difficult because of me.
If I wait things may not turn out the way I want them. If I wait, I am not doing the thing I want to do, I'm doing what someone else wants to do. When I wait, I rarely see an immediate benefit, which is generally annoying, irritating, frustrating--especially if I haven't "agreed" to wait (i.e. the "shortest" line at the grocery store which takes the longest amount of time).
But waiting expresses value--a confidence, an affection. It is the giving of me for you; my way for yours. It is submission to the will of another. It is beautiful. It is Christlike. It is the way of God. No matter the circumstance, I am ultimately waiting on God. Whether I'm waiting for Him to move the line or give wisdom or answer a prayer, my willingness to wait and depend on Him is the way of Christ. It is an echo of His prayer, "Not my will, but thine be done."
What are you waiting for? Is your heart quieted and content in the lap of God? Or are you clamoring for more?
"O Lord, my heart is not proud, nor my eyes haughty;
Nor do I involve myself in great matters,
Or in things too difficult for me.
2 Surely I have composed and quieted my soul;
Like a weaned child rests against his mother,
My soul is like a weaned child within me.
3 O Israel, hope in the Lord
From this time forth and forever." Psalm 131
No comments:
Post a Comment
I'd love to hear from you! Please share your experiences, thoughts, questions or comments. Thanks for stopping by.