Peace in our Pause

“Waiting well focuses on the Person of our faith rather than the object of our wait.” Wait and See, Wendy Pope, p. 69

Years ago, I went through a crisis of faith while waiting on the fulfillment of one of my long-waited desires. I almost became obsessed with getting it and felt I was on the verge of my years of prayers being answered. I’m sure that I interpreted verses from the Bible as God confirming I was getting ready to receive the object of my prayer. Over the next while, it was obvious that what I most wanted wasn’t going to be realized…yet. I still have 100% confidence that what God promised me will come to pass but I must continue to focus on the Person instead of the desire. When I read this quote today, I couldn’t help but to smile because I live this out daily because I have no choice. But I am proof positive that when we shift our focus from the promise to the Promise-maker great things happen. Duty of prayer to God becomes delight in approaching Him. Obsession of the ‘what’ will be replaced with devotion to the ‘Who’. 

It is not easy to wait for anything. We live in a culture where waiting feels like a waste of time…an aggravation …a necessary evil. But great things happen in the tension between asking and receiving. Fellowship with God happens…spiritual growth is at its best…the invisible God takes on visible movements in our circumstances. God knows our hearts even better than we do, and He knows every detail of our lives that need to align around our requests. The root of the Hebrew word for delight is ‘to be soft or pliable.’ ‘When our hearts are soft and pliable, we are to bend to God’s will. We can get to know God through time spent in His Word and in prayer. In getting to know God we experience the pleasure of being in His company, and have the overwhelming desire to delight in Him…The Person of our faith in enough. This is where we have to land in our wait because there is no other way to have peace in our pause.’ p. 75.

Like me, I’ll bet there is something on which you may obsess as you open your eyes this morning to another day without the object of your wait. A baby? A relationship? A job? A reconciled marriage? A healed body? There are miles and miles of unanswered prayers but only One ear who has the power, the patience and the purpose to accomplish all that is good for us. Delighting in God brings about transcending peace while we wait well.