Have you ever found yourself waiting at an airport?
Waiting on an airplane is simple, right? At least there’s some sort of assurance because the ticket is paid, and the schedule is set.
But the reality is that uncertainty is also a player in the waiting game.
There are different types of waiting: I’ll give you two!
In this blog post my intention is to look deeply into waiting on God. I will focus on two ways we can wait. I have titled the first type, “waiting in truth” and the other one, “waiting in surrender”.
My hope is to look into waiting by diving into God’s character and also attempting to understand the desires of the human heart.
“I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry” (Psalm 40:1, ESV).
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| Waiting is a verb my friend, so let us move while we wait. |
Let’s breakdown the definitions for Waiting
In the Oxford Dictionary waiting is listed with two definitions. The first one is what most people would think of, but the second definition is something to meditate on.
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the fact of staying where you are or delaying doing something until somebody/something comes or something happens
This first definition for waiting truly lines up with a Christian worldview. As a believer, the main way we think of waiting involves pausing in hope, and completely trusting in God alone. Often, this involves being silent and looking to God in expectation of what He could do or being still in prayer rejoicing over what He already did.
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the job of working as a waiter or waitress
The second definition brings to mind a concept that is often overlooked in our society, and even in the church. The church commonly talks about serving, but not necessarily being a servant as a go to vocation. In this definition waiting on God is not staying or delaying something in our life but waiting, itself, becomes the job description. In the simplest of forms, waiting (as a servant) is referring to being a slave. It’s about God’s will, not my will.
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And he said to all, “If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross daily and follow me (Luke 9:23).
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And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant,[d] and whoever would be first among you must be slave[e] of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:42-45)
Waiting in this instance requires humility. We become slaves to Christ and look to the eternal instead of the temporal. In essence the Christian becomes a waiter (servant) to God’s will.
Waiting in Truth (God and His promises)
Who can we trust in this world to be everything we need?
No one!
It’s survival of the fittest at every turn. Human beings will eventually lie, cheat and betray another to advance. It’s about self-preservation. We are selfish and prideful by nature. Scripture would say “for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,” (Romans 3:23).
Who can we trust?
As Christians we have a dire need to know the Lord intimately because that’s where we will start to see that He is not like us. That’s where we can truly say, I can trust God and God alone is whom I trust.
We are unfaithful and He is faithful. In the light of His character our own character will also be exposed, and we will rejoice to serve the holy God of Israel.
“But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible,” (Ephesians 5:8-17).
Exposing God’s nature is the beginning of waiting in truth because “the fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom, and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.” (Proverbs 9:10)
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He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, (Hebrew 1:3)
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Fear not, you worm Jacob, you men of Israel! I am the one who helps you, declares the Lord; your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel. (Isaiah 41:14)
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in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised imperishable, and we shall be changed. For this perishable body must put on the imperishable, and this mortal body must put on immortality. (1 Corinthians 15:52-53)
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The eternal God is your dwelling place, [m] and underneath are the everlasting arms. [n] And he thrust out the enemy before you and said, ‘Destroy.’ (Deuteronomy 33:27)
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Jesus said to him, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.” (John 14:6)
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And I am sure of this, that he who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ (Philippians 1:6)
These verses point to God’s holy, omnipotent and mighty nature. Everything from His plan of salvation to His eternal love in Christ, is a reminder of His perfect nature.
I can come broken, weak and afflicted to the one true and almighty God. He is completely able to satisfy my soul. The King of kings can satisfy all I lack!
The works of his hands are intertwined deep into the framework of eternity; therefore, I can rest from temporary worries (waiting) in the light of what Christ Jesus did on the cross.
Waiting in truth, looks at God’s character as the ultimate truth and makes the thought of an unholy and untrustworthy God, a complete fallacy.
Statements like, “God doesn’t hear me!” from a believer would be a misunderstanding of God’s nature. Our current afflictions are not a reflection of who God is, but of where we are, a fallen world that groans.
As believers we ought to understand that waiting is a transient affliction, but Christ is our eternal reward.
“As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal” (2 Corinthians 4:18).
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| Holding on to God even if we are falling. Be sure He will catch you! |
Waiting in Surrender (obedience)
Waiting in surrender is another way we can wait on God, but in reality, it’s often a simultaneous process with waiting in truth.
The best way to understand waiting in surrender is to look at our present human state and look deep at the circumstances in our life that cause us to seek self-preservation.
What are those circumstances that push us to seek momentary relief or pleasure?
What makes us cry out, “Jesus rescue me now?”
Waiting in surrender, at its simplest form is understanding that God doesn’t promise immediate relief or abundance here and now. God doesn’t promise a life free from affliction. He promises eternal life in Christ Jesus.
Understanding God’s love and plan is what will lead us to wait in surrender. As believers we should come to a place where the darkest moments and the deepest desires in our life are nothing compared to life in Christ. For to me to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:21).
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“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:24)
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“Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him” (James 1:12).
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For whoever would save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for my sake will find it (Matthew 16:25)
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Share in suffering as a good soldier of Christ Jesus. No soldier gets entangled in civilian pursuits, since his aim is to please the one who enlisted him (2 Timothy 2:3-4).
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“And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Philippians 2:8).
The scriptures above show us the greatest example of how to wait, the Lord Jesus Christ. He became obedient to God the Father, even to the point of death!
Jesus waited on God with utmost obedience and trust.
Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God (Hebrews 12:1-2).
Jesus waited on God, dear Christian.
Jesus knew God the Father as trustworthy.
Jesus endured the painful reality of surrendering His will (in obedience) to God.
BUT now …
Jesus is at the right hand of God interceding for us!
“The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “therefore I will hope in him.” (Lamentations 3:24)
Won’t we wait on Him?
Other resources:
Wait Definition and Meaning – Bible Dictionary (biblestudytools.com)
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