Waiting in Hope

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your hearts be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord. Psalm 27:14 (Amp.)

What we wait for is far less important than what God is doing while we wait. David Roper

One of the hardest things to do for humans is wait. We quickly realize this as we wait at the traffic light or in the grocery line and listen to ourselves and others grumble and complain. These trivial waiting times challenge our patience, but the very sobering and heart wrenching 'waits' of life can challenge our faith. A couple that longs for a child of their own continue to look at an empty crib. A woman waits helplessly in frustration for the ability to move her arm again after her stroke. A family pleads for reconciliation with their husband and father, hoping he will choose to come home. A man waits on God's direction to know which job to take in his striving to be obedient. As the days and years pass, individuals continue to wait for dreams to be fulfilled. Life is full of simply waiting

The word wait in the above passage means,"to bind together (by twisting), to be joined, to lie in wait for someone. To hope for, be confident, to look for patiently, to trust." The passage implies that there is a battle in the wait as we are told to be brave and courageous, that our hearts need to be steadfast and immovable. But we can't be those things if we are not twisted up in and joined with Christ. We are to be so confident in Him that we lie in wait and look for Him. The biblical definition of hope is not one of wishful thinking but one of confident expectation! In the wait we can expect the struggle, but in the wait we can also expect God.

Just as the Israelites, Hannah, David, the prophets and so many more waited on God, we too wait for what He has for us. It may even be something far better than what we had been longing for. As we look to Him, what is He doing in us? What is He teaching us? How is He transforming us? We don't always understand His timetable, but we can trust His heart as we wait in hope!

Lord, help me to stay so twisted up in You that my heart is immovable when trials of waiting come. Help me not to become distracted by obstacles or swayed by impatience, but find me faithful to You alone.

Jocelyn Hamsher