Choosing how to wait

We are often tested and find ourselves unexpectedly waiting for something which is delayed. The way you wait affects the way you pray: and vice versa! “In the morning I will order my prayer to you and eagerly watch.” (Psalm 5 v3, NASB)

Terry and I thought we would have sold our house and moved to Kingston long ago! We put it on the market in February, and I thought, somewhat naively, that we would be settled by Easter. After all, God had spoken to us! He knew our busy schedule, the dates when it would be most convenient to pack up and go; that we had ‘Together on a Mission’ to think about, family coming and going….

He certainly did; and I am grateful that he kept us in our house for the conference, it worked out just fine. But then surely everything would fall into place? Well, things began to happen, but there have been frustrations and complications.

What can you do? Watch and pray.

We have to face that we run into the same problems and delays and frustrations as anyone else in this uncertain world with its economic perils and disasters. Sometimes we just have to wait. But there are ways of waiting; we can fume and seethe with annoyance, we can wait angrily, we can try to manoeuvre things, we can be negative and gloomy: “This is never going to happen, or if it does, it will be the worst possible time…”

We can lie awake at night worrying; we can be tense and uptight, living on the edge of panic: “Suppose we got it wrong? What’s going to happen? How will we cope?” etc, etc.

For those with no hope in a merciful God who is a loving father who plans the best for us, waiting is fraught with fear, anxiety and tension. But our Father tells us, “I know the plans I have for you, plans to prosper you and not harm you, plans to give you a future and a hope.”

It honours him when we wait in faith and hope. He is the one who gives peace which is not dependent on everything going our way. He is the prince of peace!

So we can choose how we wait. I rather like David’s way in Psalm 27v14, “Wait—(eagerly long for)–for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait—(confidently)– for the Lord.” I also identify with Jehoshaphat when he was in a tight spot, surrounded by hostile forces. He prayed, “Lord, we don’t know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” The answer came back, “Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord” (2 Chron 20). Good place to be!