“You can get so confused
that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.
The Waiting Place…
…for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow.
Everyone is just waiting.
Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night
or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.
Everyone is just waiting.”
Dr. Seuss, Oh, the Places You’ll Go!
The Waiting Place…nobody really likes to be here. It can be a difficult place, a confusing place, a challenging place, a hopeful place, and a growing place all at the same time. Much like Dr. Seuss, we can say “No! That’s not for you!!” But sometimes it is exactly where He wants us to be.
I am in this place. Seeking answers and direction for multiple things from children to ministries, I feel like I am in a holding pattern. You have been there, no doubt. I need to know this before I can go on to that and so forth. I get impatient and even frustrated at times, most especially when others are waiting for me to do something and I am waiting for the Lord.
That is the key. I am not waiting for a letter in the mail or a response to an email. I am waiting on the Lord. The answers I seek are ones only He can give. All others are simply not good enough. I can settle for good or I can wait for the best. It is a daily struggle, I assure you. Much as I know and believe that God has the answers and His timing is perfect, sometimes I still am tempted to settle for what I have today.
To avoid falling victim yet again, I have to keep my focus. My timetable challenges me to get things done, deadlines and such that I pick and choose. I get caught up in time and lose sight of eternity. Looking at today, I see what is right in front of me instead of the bigger picture of what God is doing. Focus is the answer. Okay, actually Jesus is the answer, and He is where our focus should be. I continue to go back to Him – asking for guidance, praying for a heart to wait, and longing for courage to do things His way.
Waiting. It can be a difficult place. Dr. Seuss would say it’s not for you, but I would beg to differ with him on this aspect. If we are simply waiting, sitting idle and hoping for the best, he would be right. But if we are waiting on the Lord, actively waiting, it is the best place we could possibly be – right where He wants us.
Active Waiting – what exactly does that look like?
1. Seek – Seek the Lord . . . frequently. How does our prayer time look? How much do we talk and how much do we listen?
2. Expect – know that the Lord is at work around us. Look for Him to do something in your world. He will.
3. Do – He has already given you some things to do. Do the last thing He said until He tells you to do something different…then do that.
The Waiting Place is not a bad place to be, when the Lord has amazing timing. We have to rest in the fact that He loves us and His way is best.
What are you waiting for today?
Leave a Reply