A Moment To Praise 3.8.21
Joyce Lochinger, Gravel Hill Worship Leader
Waiting
Waiting! Does anyone like to wait on something? Anything?
I know that I sure don’t. I find it, quite frankly, annoying.
However, if we take a look into the Bible, it tells us at least in 39 places that we should wait on the Lord.
He is obviously trying to teach us patience was as important to have more faith in him.
A Moment To Praise 3.8.21 in Scripture
Isaiah 30:18 says at the very end: “Blessed are all who wait for him.” Blessed! I can’t imagine feeling blessed when I am in the midst of waiting for something. I am usually impatient, and I might add that I am usually also cantankerous in the process. Yet God is saying to all of us that in the waiting, we will find His blessing.
I have done enough personality tests in my lifetime to know that my personality type is basically called the “finisher”. I like things wrapped up in a tidy box at the end of the day and off of my list of to-dos. If I am not finished with a task or process within a certain timeframe, I can get really up tight. Often, I have the ability to come to the end of something and not have it hanging over me.
But sometimes, there are definitely situations in which I have to wait. I have found that in these times, God always has a purpose and reason behind the wait. Not only does He reveal that purpose to me eventually, but He also gives me a chance to practice patience in Him, faith in Him, and trust in Him.
Grace
In these times of waiting, we are also told in the first part of this same scripture that “the Lord longs to be gracious to you, therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.” What an interesting thought as well. The Lord longs to show us grace. It never occurred to me that God, the creator of all things, had a longing to show me grace. Yet, that’s what it says in scripture. In times of waiting, He is teaching us to look for His grace in the middle of it all and He reminds us that He will show it to us. He also promises compassion. In fact, He will rise up to show us compassion. He will go out of his way to show us that He cares. All while we are waiting.
How thankful we should be in times of ease and in times of waiting, because in both circumstances, God is there for us. He never leaves our sides.
I hope that in this season of Lent as we prepare for Easter and the celebration of the resurrection, we remember that God is always compassionate and always ready to give us His grace and His love. We just have to look beyond our circumstances and reach out to Him to receive it.
A Moment To Praise 3.8.21 in Song
This song, While I Wait by Lincoln Brewster, is a beautiful song about waiting on God and feeling the embrace of His grace, continuing to worship and trusting in His miracles in our life!
Have a great week!
Joyce
