The entire 27th Psalm is a great read for encouragement, but there's one verse in particular that caught my attention yesterday morning as I spent time in God's presence during intercessory prayer. He asked me what my waiting room looked like. I was clueless until I read Psalm 27:14, Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.
God asked me what I was doing between the time that I made my supplication known to Him and the time of the manifestation of His promise to me. He asked me if I was being of good courage and if I was allowing Him to strengthen my heart. He asked me if I was getting to know Him better during the wait. He asked if I was re-learning to trust Him in my waiting room.
The interesting thing about waiting is that we all have to do it. None of us are exempt. We can do it in a way that facilitates what God wants to do for, in and through us or we can do it in a way that just makes the wait longer. Once, I was heading to the cashier's office at a university. While I was in the office, I walked past a young man in the line who said aloud, "Man this line is too long. I'm not going to school this semester!" It was at that moment that I changed my philosophy that everyone deserves a chance to go to college. It was the most asinine statement I'd heard at that point in my life. Who would throw away the opportunity for higher education because they had to wait in a line, but reflecting back on that now and typing out this blog, we throw away the blessings of God everyday by getting out of the line. Funny thing though, we wind up praying the same prayer for the same thing and waiting even longer on the same manifestation because of our ignorance, impatience and immaturity.
We all must wait for something, for some reason at some point. It may be at the DMV, the grocery store, the bank, or at the movie theater. It may be waiting on your change to come, on your ministry to develop, on your next level in spiritual maturity, or on your calling to come forth. It may be on a spouse, on a new car, on your financial situation to change, or on the baby you've prayed so earnestly to God to have.
We all have the experience of waiting. It is part of the human condition. The question is not whether or not we wait. The question is how are you waiting? What's in your waiting room? I was chatting about this with a friend and she said it reminded her of a doctor's office. While we wait to be seen by the doctor, in the hopes that she/he can help fix what ails us, we have to wait for our turn. You see some people reading magazines, others may be on Facebook or texting, or something on their smart phones; still others may be holding a baby or chastising a child, and there's that one guy or gal who has to complain about how long the doctor is taking and how the doctor must be running way behind because they got there at such and such time and it's been over an hour. If you're not this person and if you're like me you probably cringe and try to find a distraction so that you don't have to listen. But there are those who are persuaded to join in the negative conversation and soon there's a group of folks feeling sorry for themselves and justified at judging a situation that they know little or nothing about at all. Sort of like Job's friends huh . . .?
The thing about waiting well is asking God what He wants you to gain during the wait. Generally speaking, meaning I can't tell you what you need to acquire during your wait, but I can say that whatever it is that you're waiting on, is something that's needed for God's glory and for your edification. It is the key that will unlock the promise. It is something that needs to be added to you so that you will be ready for your promise.
Think about it this way. Let's say, you're recently divorced . . . and your finances are horrible . . . and you don't really trust . . . and you're shy . . . and you're a bit overweight . . . and you're tired . . . and you need to spend time with God . . . and you need to read the Bible . . . and you know for sure that you don't want to be alone. Given all of these things you begin to pray and ask God for the blessing of a help mete or a spouse. You're wanting your Ruth or your Boaz.
As He does always, He answers you. He shows you a vision of your future. But think about it seriously, if your spouse were to come to you in your broken condition would you be ready for him or her? Would you like you in all that mess? Would you want you like that? So what happens is between the time we ask God for something and the time that it becomes manifest in our lives, we get this wonderful opportunity to exercise in our waiting (weighting) room. We get to pray and lay prostrate in His presence. We get to shed a few pounds and lay aside the weight and the sin that so easily distracts us. We get to get our finances in order by living within our new normal means, paying tithes, giving an offering of our time and our money to Him. We get to read and learn who He is. We get to observe how He moves in our lives; rearranging things, people, scenarios and situations. We get to trust Him beyond what we have ever done before and slowly we are encouraged and our hearts, minds, bodies and spiritual beings are strengthened. We start to look good financially, spiritually, physically and mentally. We are less likely to complain in the waiting room because we have purpose, goals and objectives. We have something to do. We have something to strive for. I offer to you today that no matter what it is that you've just come out of, that you are about to go into or currently find yourself in, God is watching your waiting room activities. Will you extend your time in the waiting room because you're not redeeming it?
Look around your waiting room today and consider how you're waiting. Consider what you asked God for and what He has shown you. Don't worry about the how, the why, or the when; that's God's part. Focus on the yes, the what do you want me to learn Lord, the is this glorifying you Lord, the how is this edifying me Lord. Focus on the strengthening of your core and your inner man. God wants to grow you. He wants to stretch you. He wants to mature you, but most of all, my job today is to tell you that it IS HIS good will to bless you. He is not withholding any good thing from you. He is preparing you in your wait. He is making you ready in your wait. He wants you to be able to handle the promise without losing it. He wants you to appreciate it. He wants you to be happy in it. Look around your waiting room. What you need for your next level is in there, and as my friend told me, God really meant for you to wait well because He said it twice in the same verse!
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