Hurry Up and Wait: Six Days of Joy in the MeantimeSample

The Power of Waiting...

But those who wait on the LORD
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31

We all get it. Been there. Done that.

We’ve waited in a long line headed nowhere fast. Waited for an event or circumstance to point us in the right direction. Waited for a relationship to bloom into something more. Waited for something or someone to arrive on our scene that may be deeply embedded into our hearts—a job, an opportunity, a healing, a spouse, or a baby—even if we don’t know yet what or who that might be.

The days of our waiting can be long and tedious, causing us to doubt Lord Jesus’ goodness and love in our lives or to second-guess whether we have heard correctly from our Heavenly Father about something.

Nevertheless, the word for waiting in the Bible is not the same as standing in line at a theme park without a lightning pass to get on a ride.

To wait—Qavah—in the original Hebrew, means to wait for, look for, expect, and hope. Qavah is an active word, much like a waitperson serving you, listening intently for what you desire. It also means to gather together, to bind up, and adhere to.

The second portion of Qavah’s definition is as sweet as it is life-transforming.

Think of this second definition in the context of being so bound up and in love with Jesus that His presence becomes our oxygen, and His very heartbeat becomes ours. Realizing that the waiting periods in life are actually an invitation for the power and miraculous of the Holy Spirit to fill and overflow us. This will occur as we wait expectantly, releasing our control of a desired outcome and drawing closer to Him to experience His beyond-reason love—rather than merely knowing it as Christian theory. Here, we find Jesus Himself is the Gift, the answer to the prayer or desired thing we seek.

Yes, ultimately, we’ll experience and know that our times of waiting are no longer drudgery but can become the most refreshing, transforming, and extraordinary seasons of our lives.

Let’s pray about this...

Dear Heavenly Father...I wait in Your presence ________ (take time to do this). I ask for a paradigm shift in my thinking regarding waiting on You. By the power of the Holy Spirit within me, I surrender the person or thing I am waiting for into Your almighty hands ______ (do this). I accept Your invitation to dive deeper into intimacy with You and for the Holy Spirit’s call to draw me closer and overwhelm me. Yes, Lord. I wait upon You with an expectant heart. In the Superlative Name of Lord Jesus, I pray. Amen.