5.17.2010

Learning to Wait


I have a problem with being patient:  I'm not very good at it.

You'd think that after all the practice I've had trying to be patient, I'd be filled to overflowing with this fruit of the Spirit by now.

There are many times in my life where I have had to wait.... just trust Him, hold on, and waitSometimes I held on for dear life, white-knuckled, by sheer faith.  Other times I quietly and blindly walked with Him, letting Him lead the way, carrying me when necessary.

Patience was cultivated as my husband and I waited nearly four years to be married; as we waited years for our children, who each ultimately arrived by the blessing of adoption; as we waited for God to show us the city where He wanted us to settle and put down roots; and now again, as we wait to sell our home in a struggling economy.

Things don't always happen the way that we plan, but it is so comforting to know that He is working everything for good, in His timing, when we continue to be faithful.
"And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  ~ Romans 8:28
That's a promise worth holding on to, white knuckles and all.


Wait
by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, "Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

"My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign,
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.

"You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply."

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting... for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

"I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of my love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

"You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence are all you can see.

"You'd never experience the fullness of love
When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

"The glow of my comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have, last.

"You'd never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
But, oh, the loss, if you missed what I'm doing in you.

"So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still . . . Wait."


Praying that we can all appreciate His most precious answer of all... to wait on Him.

May you feel His presence and be filled with Him as Pentecost approches this week.
    

        Warmly,
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This post is linked with Finer ThingsThankful Thursday, WFMWWord-filled Wednesday, Gratituesday, Tuesday Tips, and Tuesdays Unwrapped.
 
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16 comments:

  1. Ooooow, waiting is so hard. Patience is not one my best virtues...
    Love the message on the back of that truck!

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  2. Thanks, Wendy :o) I think I struggle with patience more than anything else. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment!

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  3. Jaime, I love this poem. I will be printing this out. I am so impatient and God has been working on me always, but especially in the last four years. I also think that's the main reason He called me to homeschool!!! Thanks so much for linking this up!

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  4. Love the poem! Patience is one of the hardest things to have that's for sure,

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  5. I think I struggle with patience more than anything else, too -- especially patience with my children (the unruly redheaded one, most especially!).

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  6. It is so hard to be patient!! God helped and sustained us through a long period of waiting this winter/spring and it taught me a lot about depending on Him.

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  7. Oh, that is what I needed to hear. I have trouble waiting, too, but it is what I must do in this season. Thank you for sharing this.

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  8. I'm right there with you, tho it does seem to get a bit easier as we get older. Or maybe we're just so busy we have to much to do to be impatient for the things we want to do :)

    Love that encouraging Bible verse and what a hilarious photo!!! So perfect for this Word-Filled Wednesday. Thank you for a big smile and challenge :)

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  9. I struggle with waiting too, but as the poem points out, we discover another faucet of God in those waiting periods. He reveals Himself in so many ways through those times, although it's not until afterwards that we see it!

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  10. Beautiful post. Patience and waiting are so hard, but are so blessed when we practice them!

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  11. I love how in the poem it says He knelt to meet His eyes to mine...such a precious truth of how often He works in us as our loving Father.

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  12. Thanks for sharing your thoughts. I am waiting also for so many answers. And In my waiting time I continue to praise him. But I have moments of doubt and your post encourage me not loose faith.

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  13. I had to laugh when your photo popped up. I have been very frustrated tonight with how slow my computer is. I have no patience what so ever!
    Lol. I am posting for the first time tonight on Thankful Thursday. Wow. Reading all these posts is so uplifting. Have a great week.

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  14. I wish I was more patient too. It is hard to slow down in these busy times but when we do it is so worth it!

    Best wishes,
    Natasha.

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xoxo,

Jaime

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