Transitions are scary times, they are scary because they
imply the eminent future to be full of unknowns. Unknowns are scary because,
well, they are unknown. They explicitly highlight our inability as humans to
know everything, to plan and predict the future, to be all-knowing. We thus
become dependent on others for help as we transition to the things we do not
know. We must ask questions, spend time familiarizing ourselves with the new,
and adjust from old habits to form new that work in our new environment. Asking
for help, now that is scary. That is scary and hard especially in a world and
culture that urges us towards self-reliance and 'pulling yourself up by your
own bootstraps' if you will. Asking for help is typically seen as a sign of
weakness, but is it?
I guess it all depends on your perspective.
I like to refer to this whole idea of needing help as the Burden of Not Knowing. It is a burden because,
it sucks. BUT it is a beautiful burden because it is a hardship that causes us
to realize, recognize and rely upon God. We don't know everything that we may
seek the One who does, God. This is one of many burdens (see Eccl. 3:10) I see
that God has placed in man's life for him to recognize His presence, and
respond appropriately.
As I move forward to follow Jesus where I feel that He has
called me, I find myself filled with fear, but also with peace, mostly with
peace. That is how I know I am doing the right thing by moving, because a peace
like this can come from none other than Jesus Christ. Thank you God. This peace
I know I have received because I have asked for help from the One who knows
all, and more than that, I trust Him. Waiting on the Lord has been a common
theme I have thought long and hard on these last couple weeks or so because in
the unknown it is necessary to not only ask for help, but to also wait for a
response. I have asked for help…now I must wait on the Lord for an answer. But
what does waiting on the Lord really mean? Am I to just sit here, and do
nothing until I hear clearly the Words of God? I don't think so, I think there
is more to waiting than just passing time.
Waiting...the very verb to wait
brings about such a negative connotation. We wait in line at amusement parks
bored, we wait in painful suspension at doctor's offices and hospitals, we
frustratingly are forced to wait in traffic as we rush to get from point A to
point B. We wait only when we have to because of circumstances. No one
purposefully chooses to wait.
So if waiting is such detestable
and avoided activity, why would the Bible tell us to wait on the Lord? Even
more so, if it is such a waste of time, why would He call us to wait? Doesn't that sound a little counter intuitive for
spreading the Gospel, the very thing Christians are beckoned to do. Jesus did
say to us, "follow
Me." And, "GO therefore an make disciples of all the nations, baptizing
them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them
to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the
end of the age." Yet, Scripture also tells us to WAIT on the Lord. How can we wait, and
still follow and go?
Dwelling on this I came to realize that waiting isn't so much an
inaction that God is asking of us, but more so a reason for action. Waiting on
the Lord is meant to more so be a mindset we have. "For we focus not on
what is seen, but on what is unseen." As Christians, naturally we are waiting,
waiting for the second coming of Christ. But in our waiting, we are to live,
and live life to the fullest in fact! Our waiting for Him is to bring us hope
because we have overcome the world through Jesus thus we take on life with all
of its hardships, mishaps, adventures and joys with confidence and a no regrets
attitude because we have hope that we are waiting for something, someONE that
redeems, rescues, and makes all of our living while waiting full of purpose,
the very purpose we were created for: to proclaim God's praise. So, waiting on
the LORD is a mindset. It is an action, not an inaction. It is an attitude we
live life with.
To wait on the LORD is to Walk
with Him, Acknowledge Him in all
things, Invest in others, and Tell of His deeds.
So, as I move from the beautiful 2 year season that was my time at
TEAMeffort Missions in Georgia to the unknown academia that awaits me in
Boston: I will ask for help in the unknown, and I will wait. As I wait I will
walk with Jesus, following His footsteps instead of making my own new ones. It
is so easy to think that waiting on God means lots of quiet times at coffee
shops and solitary times of prayer locked away somewhere. While those quiet
times are good and can be essential in an individual's relationship with
Christ, they are not the essence of a Christian life. Waiting on the Lord means
to seek Him, when I seek Him I am moved out of myself to the world and
community around. Even if I do not feel
His presence, I must continue to step out in faith and not stand still.
Standing still leads to complacency in faith, complacency leads to apathy
towards our faith in Christ. There is no growth in apathy. Waiting on God
should cause growth, not apathy. This is why I know I must move, I fear
becoming stagnant. So, to wait on God means that I must walk, I must move, I
must make my inactions actions towards Him and towards growth. This requires
much prayer.
Waiting on God means seeking Him and thus being in constant communion
and communication with Him, pray continually. "In all your ways acknowledge
Him and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:6) We must proclaim
God always and give Him all the glory. This means recognizing Him in every
aspect of life: every new morning, every conversation, every beauty of nature,
every laugh, every tear, God is near.
When we wait on God we must also invest in those around us. Jesus said
that the law could be summed up in two commandments: Love the LORD your God
above all else, and love your neighbor as yourself." We love ourselves
easily, we are a naturally selfish people. But, to love others means looking
out for their well being, their needs, their wants. When we wait on Jesus'
return He desires for us to build relationships with those around us, love
them, and live out Jesus before them. This will attract them to Christ. Then
they can wait on Him as well! Especially as we tell of all the amazing things
He has done in our lives. Remembering what God has done leads to reverence for
Him, and a readiness to go out and tell the world!
And so, I will continue to write (I think) while I wait. While I wait
for Christ's return, I will live. Bring on the adventure!
I can hardly wait, can you?
Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the LORD; be strong and let
your heart take courage; yes, wait
for the LORD."
Micah 7:7 "But as for me, I
will watch expectantly for the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me."
Isaiah 40:31 "Yet those who wait for the LORD will gain new
strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get
tired, they will walk and not become weary."
Romans 8:25 "But if we hope
for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for
it."
Psalm 130:5-6 "I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, and in His word do I hope. My
soul waits for the LORD more than
the watchmen for the morning; indeed,, more than the watchmen for the
morning."
Lamentations 3:25 "The LORD
is good to those who wait for Him,
to the person who seeks Him."
