The Girl Next Door ☎︎: What Are You Waiting For?

My Quiet Place

What Are You Waiting For?

It's funny how the Lord stresses a certain topic. It's the subject of every quiet time, it's in the same verse that keeps popping up everywhere you look, it's in the comment one of your friends casually makes, it's in a song on the radio...it's like "Ok, God, I get it!". Recently the Lord has been bombarding me with messages on "Waiting for and on Him".

I have been getting impatient with my circumstances. I want to know where God is leading me. I really would love to know how some recent, somewhat unpleasant, situations relate to His masterplan for my life. I have also been putting a lot, and I mean A LOT of hope in people. People are sinful; therefore, they will disappoint you. You are a person; therefore, you will disappoint you too. I know this! Yet why am I still waiting around for something to happen that I am convinced will make my life SO much better. Why do I keep relying on my own abilities to bring me joy?

Every time I wait for something outside of God to make me happy and it never happens, I am left feeling very disappointed (who would have thought?). But I have a feeling that even if every wish had come true, I would still be left wanting.

I have been waiting not only for the wrong thing, but waiting on the wrong person.

Waiting and hoping are closely connected. Think about it. We wait for what we hope for and, if we have hope, we will wait for however long it takes. There is greater room for hope in our hearts when we eliminate ourselves...when our "heart is not lifted up" and, instead, we allow God to "calm and quiet[] our soul" (Psalm 130). Our desires for the present and the future are not solely what brings us comfort and happiness, but it is desiring what the Lord desires.

{ When we cease to hanker for the world, we begin hoping in the Lord." Spurgeon }

The object of hope is a future event or thing. Maybe you hope to get married, hope to get a job, or hope to make it out of math class alive. However, the act of hoping/waiting focuses on the good that is around you in the present moment. This present good is what motivates us to keep on hoping. That being said, we can find joy even while we wait. Waiting on the Lord is a reward in and of itself.

{ "I find more true contentment in this waiting than all the world can give me in enjoying; for how can I doubt receiving reward for my waiting...when waiting for thee is itself the reward." Baker }

David realized this truth. He writes as though it is His privilege to wait upon the Lord, "For you are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long" (Psalm 25:5). Because God is able to save us, He is able to lead us into salvation. We can be sure that no matter where our waiting takes us, the Lord will guide us with the truth of His Word, lead us along level paths of righteousness, and deliver us safely into His arms.

{ "We cheerfully wait when we are certain that we shall not wait in vain...we shall not grow weary of waiting upon God if we remember how long and how graciously He waited for us". Spurgeon }

Why is it that waiting on the Lord is supposed to be such a pleasing endeavor and not a frustrating one? Why do I feel so restless when I wait? I just want what I want, when I want it!

I think it all depends on what we are waiting for. When we place our hope in the Lord's promises, then we will always receive what we desire. So, what do we wait for?

{ "The VERACITY of God to fulfill His promise,

the POWER of God to help us in difficulty,

the WISDOM of God to counsel us in perplexity,

the LOVE of God to shield us in danger,

the OMNISCIENCE of God to guide us with His eyes,

and the OMNIPRESENCE of God to cheer us with His presence." Spurgeon }

May this be our prayer:

Lord, help me to only hope in you. With you, there is JOY in the midst of waiting. You will never disappoint because of your steadfast love. You will always follow through because of your plentiful redemption. Rid me of myself--I do not want to hope in this world or in my own abilities any longer. May I find my happiness in your presence more than my desires for the future.

Give me the confidence to trust that, because you are the God of my salvation, you will lead me to that end. Because you patiently wait for me to turn to you all the day long, so will I wait for you to lead me down the right path.

Amen.