Waiting Well

"I am the good Shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me-"

- John 10:14

I feel like when it comes to the theme and lesson of waiting, I am on a never ending round-about, continually going in a circle : learning, forgetting, remembering, forgetting and so forth.  Maybe it isn't so much forgetting as it is losing sight of the truth of what it really means to wait.

I feel like I am in a constant state of waiting. I'm waiting for funds to come in for my summer mission trip, I'm waiting for my life to keep going forward in new directions, I'm waiting for friends to return to Jesus, I'm waiting for my future husband and the life we will share together, waiting and waiting and waiting...waiting for the waiting to end.

Some days I don't wait very well.

Some days I'm tired of waiting and I sink into despair and self pity. A place that as a child of God I have no place being in. Because in that place my eyes are not on my ever loving Father. My trust is not in Him.

Our Father is the good shepherd. He knows us best - better than we or anyone else knows us. He knows our hurts and our deepest longings. Our cries do not fall on deaf ears. He is listening. But His timing is not our timing and it's hard when you are impatiently waiting.

His timing can be so hard. So very very hard. But we can't give up because it's worth the wait. God is worth the wait. God is worthy of our waiting...of our waiting well.

Waiting well...

What does that look like? It's more than having patience. Patience isn't something you just magically get one day. Patience is a process...a process of waiting well.

Psalm 27:14

Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD.

So what does waiting well look like?

Psalm 37:5

Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.

My study Bible's footnote says "Commit your way to the LORD- Literally roll your way upon the LORD.

Roll your way upon the LORD? What in the world does that mean?

Mathew Henry's Commentary had this to say about this verse :

"Commit thy way unto the LORD, roll thy way upon the Lord, so the margin reads. Cast thy burden of thy care. We must roll it off ourselves, not afflict and perplex ourselves with thoughts about future events, but refer them to God. By prayer spread thy case and all thy cares before the Lord, and trust in Him. We must do our duty, and then leave the event with God. The promise is very sweet, He shall bring that to pass, whatever it is which thou has committed to Him."

- I think waiting well is not worrying about things. It's placing the stresses of this life and the things that consume our thoughts at the foot of the cross, leaving them with Jesus to handle.

- Waiting well is living in the moment, not in the future. It's pursuing God with what you have already been given instead of waiting for more.

Luke 16:10

Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little  will also be dishonest with much.

- Waiting well is spending time in the Word, in prayer and in worship. It's growing closer to your Father who will reveal those things that you seek in His perfect timing.

You can't expect your life to change if you don't spend time with the one who created your life.

So whatever you are waiting for whether it's a new job, more stable finances, a new direction, a new relationship, etc, continue to pursue the Father.

Proverbs 3:5

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.

Because He truly is a good, good Father, the good shepherd who was willing to lay down His life for the sheep, for us. He is not only worth the wait, but worthy of our waiting.

Honor Him today by waiting well.

Isaiah 40:31

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.

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Questions, comments, prayer requests, feel free to reach out to me!

~Beka