I Will Wait.

Every tuesday here on base, we have teaching tuesdays. Kacie, a g42 intern (she’s  basically like our house mom) taught a little bit on waiting one of the first weeks we were here. She talked about how the Lord showed her what her waiting room looked like, and she encouraged us to ask him that question: What does my waiting room look like?

So I asked the Lord that question, and his response was “empty.” My waiting room is plain white, no furniture, no decorations, but lots of doors. Not this comfy space that you walk into but one that looks more like solitary confinement. When he told me this, I knew why- it’s because I don’t come here often, and when I do, it’s usually forced. I haven’t cared for this place well. Waiting is something I tend to look at as this dreadful task, one to avoid at all costs. So I asked him, “What does it look like to wait for you? What do you want my waiting room to look like?” He brought me to Psalm 27, and didn’t hesitate to answer.

Psalm 27:

I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness in the Land of the Living.

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong, and let your heart be courageous.

Wait for the Lord.

Then He said:

“It looks like peace and knowing that I am working for your good. 

It looks like resting in my faithfulness and knowing I fulfill my promises.

It looks like being content and letting me guide.

It looks like continual seeking and certainty. 

It looks like courage and obedience. 

It looks like stillness. 

Every season should be a season of waiting for me.”

He showed me that certainty and waiting go together when we are waiting for Him. So often, if not always, I equate waiting with uncertainty. I don’t like waiting because usually when I am waiting, I am uncertain of what the future holds. I want to know everything, as soon as possible. But the Lord has shown me that we get to be certain in waiting- certain that we will see his goodness no matter what, that he is working for his glory and our good (v.13). That waiting doesn’t need to be this dreadful task but is actually an invitation for communion; because when we wait for him, we get to wait with him. It is a time when we get to sit with the father and rest in Him arms, a time to be content, a time for expectancy, a time to trust, a time to seek him, a time for joy, a place of peace. 

God doesn’t just call us to wait when we don’t know what to do, or when we’ve realized we can’t do it on our own- He calls us to wait for him every day. He wants every season to be a season of waiting not just for his sake, but for ours. Because when we truly embrace every season as a season of waiting, he gives us more than we could ever get in the rushing and control. When we wait for him as a last resort, we miss out on experiencing his character.

So from now on, I will look at my waiting room as a place I want to be. A place of peace, rest, hope, certainty, and goodness. I will look at waiting as something I get to do and take joy in. I will seek the Lord in waiting. I’ll make my waiting room comfortable- I’ll put in a couch and a coffee table so Jesus and I can sit over a cup of coffee together. I’ll replace the doors with windows so I can look out and see all he is doing in the waiting, and remember he works here too. 

Jesus, I will wait for you.