Thursday, September 24, 2026

          The late singer and songwriter Tom Petty sang, “The waiting is the hardest part.  Every day you see one more card.  You take it on faith; you take it to the heart.  The waiting is the hardest part.”  We might say he’s not wrong.  Waiting can be hard.  Kids struggle to wait for Christmas.  We wait for planes to board and take off.  We wait for payday to arrive. Teenagers just want to grow up.  Adults grow antsy waiting for hopes and wishes to come true.  Waiting is addressed in the Bible.  Psalm 130:5 says, “I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in His word, I put my hope.”  Folks waited in the Bible.  David waited to become king and to ascend to the throne that God promised Him.  When His mother pressed Him to make more wine at a wedding, Jesus responded that His time had not yet come (John 2:4).  Following the resurrection, the disciples waited for the promised Holy Spirit to come.  Waiting has been around for a long time.
            Some people say, tritely yet truthfully, that God often answers our prayers with one of these three possibilities...go, no or slow.  Go and no are rather obvious answers. The idea behind slow is simply to wait.  How do we wait for the Lord?  For starters, we make sure we are not waiting grudgingly with clenched teeth.  It can be easy to become angry if God is putting the brakes on our plans or intentions.  But God always acts in ways that are good, right and true.  If we know the Lord, we should welcome those moments when God applies the brakes.  He could well be saving us from ourselves and some ill-timed plans we have in mind.  It has been said that fools rush in where angels fear to tread.  But there are some positive things we should also do as we wait on the Lord.
            First, we continue to pray.  God may give us greater clarity when we are waiting in a prayerful way.  Prayer can slow us down just a bit and allow God to work and move in our lives and circumstances.  As we pray, we can invite others to pray for us and with us in this season of waiting.  Second, we continue to worship.  We come before the Lord to praise and honor Him.  We can worship warmly and eagerly because we know that we rest in His arms.  Worship often gives us an image of God to hold on to as we wait—an image like that of a shepherd, a tender father, a confidante or the One for whom nothing is impossible.
            Third, we stay in God’s Word.  We continue to read and reflect upon Scripture.  The Psalms and Proverbs are two great books in the Bible to read during a season of waiting. We can glean wisdom from Proverbs and consolation from the Psalms.  The Psalms can gladden our hearts and cheer on our spirits as we wait for God to work or to open a door for us.  Psalm 130:6 says, “I wait for the LORD more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.”  When we wait, we are not alone.  Past men and women of faith have waited.  And others are waiting alongside us too.
            Fourth, remember that God’s timing is perfect.  Waiting can leave us frustrated and even aggravated.  But we come back to the simple truth that God’s timing is perfect.  He is neither too late nor too early in anything He chooses to do.  Often, hindsight gives us a chance to see that God’s movement came at the right time and in the right way.  When you wait, remind yourself that God’s timing will be right—perfect, in fact, every time.  Fifth, look expectantly for where God may be at work.  He could well surprise you by how and where He works.  He may open doors that you surely thought were closed forever.  In Acts 16, the Holy Spirit specifically kept Paul from going to Bithynia but opened a door to go to Macedonia—Paul’s famous Macedonian call that opened the way for the gospel to enter Europe.  We can always hold on to the profound truth that God’s timing is perfect. He will always get His people (including you and me) to where we need to be and when we need to be there.  Christian song writer Chandler Moore wrote these words about waiting, “I'm gonna wait on You.  I'vе tasted Your goodness. I'll trust in Your promise.  I'm gonna wait on You.“  Have a great Thursday!