On Waiting...

I have been thinking about and living into God's perfect timing for all things. The title of this blog is "From Time to Time" and what is implied in this is the notion of waiting. There are some things that happen from one time to another time. And sometimes, seemingly nothing happens in between one time and another. But just like the blooms that burst forth from the ground as winter gives way to Spring, something is always happening. God is up to something, even when we cannot see it. As one of my new favorite authors, Alicia Britt Chole, writes, "bare does not mean barren." And so, we wait... I will admit, I am not very good at waiting. I am rather impatient, especially when it comes to the move of God. But I am learning, and living, and leaning into the pauses. In the much loved and quoted Psalm 27. the Psalmist invites us to: "Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord." Waiting requires strength. Strength that we often don't feel we have. Just before the invitation to wait is a glimpse into the the Psalmists human frailty. The NIV translation doesn't do it any justice. Here we read, "I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living." But the KJV, my favorite for reading and memorizing the Psalter says, "I had fainted, unless I had believed to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Remaining confident is totally different from almost fainting. I would have fainted: dizzy and lightheaded, wearied and exhausted. Waiting can wear us out, but in the end it is our faith that keeps us holding on, if even just by a thread. Waiting is heart work. To wait on God requires not only physical strength, but emotional strength. Be encouraged--take heart--that God will make good on His promises because that is just the way God is! Take heart that God has a plan for your life, to give you a hope and a future. Take heart--is an invitation for your soul to be assured that God is indeed up to something, something good. The reality is, if we do not believe in our hearts that God is working some things out in our lives that we are incapable of doing ourselves then walking in it is virtually impossible. And I am a witness that waiting is worth it. The Psalmist knew it too. I believe that is why it bore repeating. Wait...and wait. Just when you think you've been waiting too long, wait some more. Just when you are about to faint, wait some more. Just when you think you are ready to throw in the towel, wait some more. Just when you are about to take matters into your own hands, wait some more... And so, I will wait on God... and wait some more...with my body and heart...for in God's time, all things are made beautiful.