I ran across a verse sometime back that relates to waiting and God, and I just found it again.
Isaiah 5:19: "They say, 'Let god hurry; let him to his owrk soon so we may see it. Let the plan of the Holy One ... happen soon so that we will know what it is.'"
That's the way most of us feel at one time or another, especially us writers. May God give us grace to stop wanting to hurry Him!
Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts
Showing posts with label waiting. Show all posts
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Saturday, February 20, 2010
Waiting
Waiting.
It’s a human experience. It’s part of life for every person who walks the earth. Often it brings out the worst in us. Occasionally it demonstrates character and purpose.
Waiting has been part of being human through all time. Abraham had to wait for the promise of a son, Jacob had to wait for Rachel, David had to wait for the kingdom to be his.
Our culture is replete with occasions to wait—-at red lights, in checkout lines, even for the morning coffee to perk. Life itself is full of waiting—-mothers wait for the birth of a baby, children wait to grow up, adolescents can’t wait for adulthood, and the athlete with a broken leg chafes for activity while waiting for the leg to heal.
As much as we fret about waiting, it is something God values. We are told repeatedly in the Scriptures to “wait on the Lord.” That grates against our human longing for “instant gratification.” Why God might be interested in our waiting is a topic for another day.
I am in a time of waiting right now. I’ve sent a full proposal with sample chapters to an agent. He responded promptly with “If you haven’t heard from me in three months, feel free to remind me.” So I will be waiting. That’s okay. I’m using the break to catch up on other things in my life, including writing things. I hope to read more blogs and get back to studying my writing books. More than either of those, I need to get back to building up my own blog.
Right now I’m feeling some things I’m not sure I want to feel, but God knows about them, too. I will wait for Him to make things clear.
It’s a human experience. It’s part of life for every person who walks the earth. Often it brings out the worst in us. Occasionally it demonstrates character and purpose.
Waiting has been part of being human through all time. Abraham had to wait for the promise of a son, Jacob had to wait for Rachel, David had to wait for the kingdom to be his.
Our culture is replete with occasions to wait—-at red lights, in checkout lines, even for the morning coffee to perk. Life itself is full of waiting—-mothers wait for the birth of a baby, children wait to grow up, adolescents can’t wait for adulthood, and the athlete with a broken leg chafes for activity while waiting for the leg to heal.
As much as we fret about waiting, it is something God values. We are told repeatedly in the Scriptures to “wait on the Lord.” That grates against our human longing for “instant gratification.” Why God might be interested in our waiting is a topic for another day.
I am in a time of waiting right now. I’ve sent a full proposal with sample chapters to an agent. He responded promptly with “If you haven’t heard from me in three months, feel free to remind me.” So I will be waiting. That’s okay. I’m using the break to catch up on other things in my life, including writing things. I hope to read more blogs and get back to studying my writing books. More than either of those, I need to get back to building up my own blog.
Right now I’m feeling some things I’m not sure I want to feel, but God knows about them, too. I will wait for Him to make things clear.
Saturday, August 30, 2008
The Waiting Game
No one likes to wait. In our American culture, we have become very bad wait-ers. We honk, we holler, we stew when someone makes us wait. We look for shortcuts and the fastest way to get somewhere or get something done. Just look at what a thriving and integral part of our culture fast food has become. Meanwhile, inventors produce a steady stream of products designed to do things for us faster.
Most of the time, however, our God is not into “fast.” Part of that is because time doesn’t exist for Him. With a thousand years being like a day, waiting as we know it has no meaning for Him. But He does know something about waiting because waiting is one of His special tools. Because He is God, He understands what waiting means to His children. The good news is that, because He is God, He knows exactly how to use the waiting for good.
Writers, especially those of us who aren’t published, know a lot about waiting. We wait while we learn the craft, we wait to find the right critique partner, the right agent, and we wait for responses from publishers. Most of all, we wait for that illusive piece of paper called a contract. Even after that, we wait through all the steps of the publishing process. Finally, we wait for that incredible moment when we hold that published book in our hands.
So why, if God is so powerful and can do anything, even in the blink of an eye, does He elect to make us wait? You know the answer, don’t you? He lets us, makes us, wait because He knows that what He will accomplish in us during that wait is more important, in light of eternity, than whatever it is we are waiting for. When people make us wait, it may or may not have a worthy purpose or outcome, but when God makes us wait, we can be sure that He will have a divine and worthy purpose. God uses waiting to accomplish in us things He knows will deepen our faith and strengthen our character.
Our task is to stay in tune to His voice and to trust that He knows exactly what He is doing.
Most of the time, however, our God is not into “fast.” Part of that is because time doesn’t exist for Him. With a thousand years being like a day, waiting as we know it has no meaning for Him. But He does know something about waiting because waiting is one of His special tools. Because He is God, He understands what waiting means to His children. The good news is that, because He is God, He knows exactly how to use the waiting for good.
Writers, especially those of us who aren’t published, know a lot about waiting. We wait while we learn the craft, we wait to find the right critique partner, the right agent, and we wait for responses from publishers. Most of all, we wait for that illusive piece of paper called a contract. Even after that, we wait through all the steps of the publishing process. Finally, we wait for that incredible moment when we hold that published book in our hands.
So why, if God is so powerful and can do anything, even in the blink of an eye, does He elect to make us wait? You know the answer, don’t you? He lets us, makes us, wait because He knows that what He will accomplish in us during that wait is more important, in light of eternity, than whatever it is we are waiting for. When people make us wait, it may or may not have a worthy purpose or outcome, but when God makes us wait, we can be sure that He will have a divine and worthy purpose. God uses waiting to accomplish in us things He knows will deepen our faith and strengthen our character.
Our task is to stay in tune to His voice and to trust that He knows exactly what He is doing.
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