Hope-Filled Wait
Waiting. It isn’t something I like and definitely isn’t something I am good at. I am a “jump in and get it done” kind of girl. Amazon Prime two-day shipping is my go-to. When problems come up, I immediately start looking for a solution, or I try to figure out what God’s plan so I can “help it along” to get to the end faster.
There are those times, though, when the waiting stretches out; when I think the promise is about to be fulfilled but then it isn’t; when I think I am going to see God’s movement in my situation, and yet nothing happens. I start focusing more and more on my unfulfilled expectation and my eyes are less and less on God. My hope begins to disappear, leaving room for bitterness to take root. Have you ever been there? You wonder if God remembers you, sees you, hears you.
God’s Word says in Isaiah 40:31:
“But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” (AMPC)
You might be in that place right now where you have been in a long season of waiting and struggling to hold on to hope. This verse in Isaiah, though, describes a wait that renews our strength and power and brings us closer to God.
The word used for “wait” here is an expectant, hope-filled waiting. It is not an expectation that God will give you the desired result you want, but a lingering in expectation of waiting for Him to move in His way, in His time. It is a hope in Him, knowing you can trust in Him. His Word says if we linger in this expectation with a hope-filled confidence in Him, we will have renewed strength and we can run and not grow weary, walk and not grow faint.
If you are starting to grow tired and discouraged, are you waiting with this type of wait? Are you focusing on your problem, only looking for what you think is the best result, expecting Him to fulfill your expectation? Or are you looking for His will, lingering in expectation for His way, hoping in Him and His timing?
If you are in that long season of waiting and you are feeling your hope disappear, put your eyes back on your Heavenly Father. Remind yourself that He is there with you. He is for you. Meditate on his Word and linger in expectation for Him.
Rachel Guest
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