Meditation Monday, September 27, 2021

Sharon Ross, Minister of Spiritual Formation and Assistant to the Senior Pastor

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Psalm 27:14

Waiting is not my favorite word. You would think that after all these years I would get the hang of waiting. Some days I am  better at it than others, but  I still catch myself sighing deeply when things aren’t clicking along the way I want them to. The Bible uses the word “wait” often. Abraham and Sarah wait for God to keep his promise, David waits to become King, Israel waits for the Messiah, and the people in the upper room wait. Waiting must be super important if it is mentioned so frequently in God’s Word.

According to Adele Calhoun, mature waiting is “the ability to sustain a deep desire with patient hope or a shorter term frustration with equanimity.” Notice that waiting patiently does not involve imagining the worst case scenarios while you wait or waiting for a future where you can finally live. The practice of waiting is surrendering your time table, letting go of control, and allowing others space and time. Waiting with God is so much different than just toughing things out. Waiting with God develops trust that God is good no matter what is happening around us. We get practice forgiving people for being their less than perfect selves. In fact, waiting with God teaches us to let go of our expectations so we can receive what He gives.

Waiting with God might just be an invitation to let go of control and grow deeper in trust of Him who loves us more than we can ever ask or imagine. What do you think?