Still Waiting

Excellent or Praiseworthy is posted on Monday and Thursday nights.

“Why do you say, O Jacob, and complain, O Israel, ‘My way is hidden from the LORD; my cause is disregarded by my God’? Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and His understanding no one can fathom. He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” — Isaiah 40: 27-31

Do you know what “waiting on the Lord” looks like to me? For our first family trip since my husband returned from his second deployment to Iraq, we decided to visit a friend in Colorado Springs. This was to be an important visit—a tender one—as this friend’s husband had been killed during that first deployment. But it is a long drive from central Texas to Colorado Springs, and attitude means everything. Do you know how big Texas is? It’s SO big that your children can ask: “Are we still in Texas?” for 10 hours!! And other than Dallas and Amarillo, there doesn’t seem to be a whole lot happening. In fact, it almost feels like you’re standing still. Many people warned us, “Not much happening between here and there but a couple of cities!”

But, if you look closely and focus on one thing outside the car window, you can actually tell how fast you’re going. Take a closer look and you’ll see even more: a red-tailed hawk diving for dinner . . . and the way the shadow from a small rise conceals the dark deer feeding. In New Mexico we saw evidence of a violent past—extinct volcanoes. We also saw hints of a traumatic future—dry stream beds that only fill during flash floods. All of this, as we say, “in the middle of nowhere.”

I think the most challenging part of the trip was to remember that, while it looked like we were not getting any closer to our destination, in truth we were clipping along at 75 mph. The rubber turned as the road unwound before us. The progress was there, but it was hard to maintain a level of excitement and anticipation when it seemed like nothing was happening. More than once the kids wanted to add “it’s BORING!!”

How much of our lives do we live between “here and there”—not just between one destination and another but between one event and another? Perhaps between one assignment and another? Or between the beginning of a deployment and the end?  We can hem and haw, complain and fight with others on the journey—like siblings on a car trip. Or we can choose to remind ourselves and each other that the “in-between” is actually PART OF THE TRIP!! What are we choosing to focus on—“outside the window”? How are we measuring the progress that we are making? How do we use the time when we can’t see what God is doing—when it seems like time is standing still and the “scenery” is not changing? Do we remind ourselves of what He has done? Or incriminate Him for what we think He hasn’t done? Or worse, quit caring and conversing?

You must communicate to be in relationship. And God is all about the relationship!! Talk to Him—He wants to know your frustrations along the way. As one of my friends said, “God is more interested in our holiness than our happiness.” And holiness is learned on the “journey”, if we’re careful to observe and remember . . . and listen to what He has to say in verses like Isaiah 40:27-31.

Have you heard the song lyrics “Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord?” Do you know why and how we GET strong? You must stress and exercise faith muscles in order to get strong—in the same way that you must stress and exercise physical muscles to build strength. Faith on a car trip means knowing that between the beginning and the end of the trip there is much to see, much to learn, and much to share. It is knowing that the end of the trip will be worth what it took to get there. It is knowing that even when it looks like nothing is happening outside, that progress is being made. Faith knows that “to wait” is actually an action verb—there is purpose in it. It results in hope!

When you feel like complaining to God on your journey, then meditate on the verses above. Your road is not hidden from Him . . the destination and purpose is known by Him. He will give you strength . . . He will give you hope.

Questions to Share:

1. For what are you waiting on the Lord?

2. What is the hardest part of waiting?  Why?  What can you learn during the wait?