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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?

Sophomore Year

So I guess my freshman year was focused more on doing what I wanted to do instead of what God wanted me to do. I think I accomplished some of what He wanted, but I've been ignoring what He has been saying to me. So here's an idea of where I am now.

• I began a class on January 11th called Life by Design. I've mentioned my friend, Sue Miley, in another post, and she is leading this class with a couple of other facilitators. Week 3 is Monday, and I'm already excited about how God is speaking to me through this course.
• Mike and I have begun attending a new church and already feel a connection with our Sunday School class and the pastor. We had been considering this change in our lives for a while, but it was visiting our dear friends, Joel & Tiffany, as they ministered on Christmas Eve in their new church in rural Mississippi that we understood what we had been missing in church--intimate fellowship with other believers.

Right now I have many issues that I want "fixed" in my life, but I have learned that taking action isn't always the best route. I'm an impatient person and would rather be doing the wrong thing, sometimes, instead of sitting around waiting. But "waiting for God is not wasting time" (thanks, Bro. Ron!). And while I'm waiting, I will be in His Word searching for His divine purpose for my life. I know that only then--when He determines that the time is right--will He reveal bits and pieces to me.