The discipline of confident waiting

Wait for the Lord;
be strong and take heart
and wait for the Lord.
- Psalm 27:14

Don’t let anyone tell you that waiting on the Lord is easy. Waiting takes strength and courage. Everything in us screams “Flight” or “Fight,” but waiting for the Lord will be, at times, our best and only faithful option.

David doesn’t entreat the readers of his psalm to wait anxiously. He doesn’t picture us pacing the halls, puffing on cigarettes, and chewing our nails. The waiting David has in mind is a confident waiting. This is the waiting of the person who rests secure in the Lord (remember “The Lord is the stronghold of my life …”).

How can we grow in this discipline of confident waiting when we are in a season where waiting for the Lord is our most faithful option?

First, don’t be ashamed to consider and rule out your other options. Take a good look at “fight” and “flight.” God gave you fists and he gave you feet. Waiting is one of three good options that the Lord has hard-wired into us. Ask him to reveal to you if this is a season where you need to wait?

Second, don’t wait alone if you don’t have to. Share your burden with trusted brothers and sisters in Christ. Invite them to pray for you that you would receive strength from the Lord. Ask them to help keep your courage up in this season of waiting.

Finally, leverage this season of waiting for health and growth. Clean your kitchen. Read your Bible. Learn a new way to pray. Go to the dentist. Go for a walk. Go fly a kite or hug a friend or eat an ice cream sundae. Go on a diet if you have to. Go on a missions trip or to a small group. Our seasons of waiting (as painful as they can be) are often also seasons of preparation. Tomorrow may not be here yet and you may not know what it will bring, but God has goodness and life for you today … even if today is spent waiting.

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