To Wait, or Not to Wait...(Part I)

The verb wait is defined by www.dictionary.com as:

1. to remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens
2. to be available or in readiness
3. to remain neglected for a time
4. to postpone or delay something
5. to look forward to eagerly

Princeton University's WordNet offers similar definitions:

1. stay in one place and anticipate or expect something
2. wait before acting
3. look forward to the probable occurrence of
4. serve as a waiter or waitress in a restaurant

Recently someone challenged me when I said that I felt God was calling me to wait...to remain in this season of my life.  I have no doubt that this well-intentioned person wanted to motivate me to release my life's potential, and I have felt for some time that God has a great purpose for my life.  But I also know that the timing is not up to me.

In Get Out of That Pit, Beth Moore writes about a verb in Psalm 40:1-2.  The full context is as follows:

"I waited patiently for the Lord;
   he turned to me and heard my cry.
He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
   out of the mud and mire."

Beth explains: 

"the phrase 'waited patiently' is translated from the Hebrew word qwh...The same word is also used in Isaiah 64:3, where in reference to God, Isaiah writes, 'For when you did awesome things that we did not expect, / you came down, and the mountains trembled before you.'  Here, the Hebrew qwh is translated expect.  The Theological Dictionary of the Old Testament speaks of the 'goal-oriented character of the verb qwh.  The psalmist didn't sit in the pit and twiddle his muddy thumbs until God delivered him.  He postured himself in absolute expectation.  He had a goal, and his shoulders would not slump till he saw it fulfilled."

I prefer to think of my waiting as qwh.  My history of impatience in making important decisions (without prayerfully requesting much input from God, I might add) was lit up like a neon liquor store sign in the night during the first session of the Life by Design course I'm taking.  When I created a timeline of major events from the last five years of my life, I realized that I was bulldozing right through my life.  I had graduated from college, moved four times, changed jobs or positions three times, been divorced, remarried, gained a stepdaughter, grieved the deaths of a mother-in-law and of a dear friend, and had some falling-outs with extended family members.  Whew!  I was exhausted just looking at it on paper!

It was not long before I journaled to Him:  Is this the season of my life where I am to be taking care of my family--Mike, kids, extended family--by using my talents of organizational skills, encouragement, and love?  Are you telling me that it is going to be a while until I get to that more fulfilling career?