Waiting on God

Be still and rest in the Lord; wait for Him and patiently lean yourself upon Him; fret not yourself because of him who prospers in his way, because of the man who brings wicked devices to pass.  Cease from anger and forsake wrath; fret not yourself--it tends only to evildoing.  Psalm 37:7-8

The eyes of all wait for You [looking, watching, and expecting] and You give them their food in due season.  You open Your hand and satisfy every living thing with favor.  Psalm 148:15-16

And therefore the Lord [earnestly] waits [expecting, looking, and longing] to be gracious to you; and therefore He lifts Himself up, that He may have mercy on you and show loving-kindness to you.  For the Lord is a God of justice.  Blessed (happy, fortunate, to be envied) are all those who [earnestly] wait for Him, who expect and look and long for Him [for His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless, unbroken companionship]!  Isaiah 30:18

But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him] shall change and renew their strength and power, they shall lift up their wings and mount up [close to God] as eagles [mount up to the sun]; they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.  Isaiah 40:31

I am truly beginning to think that this might be one of the most valuable offerings that we can give to God.  To wait on Him.  To hand Him our hopes and dreams and let Him do what He wills with them.  To be growing closer to Him in the times of wait...to learn as much as we can while waiting.  To not dread the times that we are in a "holding pattern."

Elisabeth Elliot said so many helpful things in her book Passion and Purity.  When talking about waiting she said:  "Perhaps it was better to hope than to know.  The 'holding pattern' seems to describe a very important aspect of waiting on God." p63  And also this..."I do know that waiting on God requires the willingness to bear uncertainty, to carry within oneself the unanswered question, lifting the heart to God about it whenever it intrudes upon one's thoughts.  It is easy to talk oneself into a decision that has no permanence--easier sometimes than to wait patiently."  She was talking about waiting for love...but I think that that could be said of anything that we lay before the throne of God and then wait to see what He wills for it.  

I pray for you, today, that you would take it all to God and leave it there...waiting on Him to tell you to pick it back up again or to show you a different path/method/idea He has for you.  That the "holding pattern" times wouldn't be something dreaded, but something embraced.  That you would ask of Him "What can I learn through this time?"  That you would be willing to give up everything to become the person He most wants you to be...even when He asks you to wait and doesn't reveal it to you right away.  That He would grow you and stretch you and mold you as you wait on the Lord, making you stronger, happier and more blessed then you could ever imagine.  That you would know His victory, His favor, His love, His peace, His joy, and His matchless companionship!  This is my prayer for you!