The Discipline of Waiting…

Waiting is never easy; it's like a muscle that needs constant tension to grow stronger. Waiting is part of the pattern of life for a follower of God. The Israelites had to wait for God to show when and where to move. They set up their tents when the Lord said to stop and then quickly picked up when the tower of fire moved. Waiting on the Lord through sandstorms and the heat of the day, the Israelites persevered.

How little we like to wait. In today’s fast food, instant connection, and texting era, we expect an answer yesterday. It is hard to wait for our children and our spouses, challenging to wait in traffic, and difficult to wait for the diagnosis or the outcome of surgery.

If waiting seems foreign to you, you are not alone. All of us hate waiting.

Yet waiting does not mean “immobility.” There is activity while waiting. It is not sitting idly; waiting is active, expectant, and prayerful.

Right now, we are waiting to see how God will move in the hearts of 16 women who came through our clinic this week. We praise God for the couple who came in uncertain about life but left certain that their eternity is secure because they gave their lives to Jesus!

In this work, as in our lives, waiting is woven into every hour of the day. I am reminded of what God himself tells us in his word…

“But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength” (Isaiah 40:31).

“The Lord is good to those that wait for him” (Lamentations 3:25).

And I particularly love Psalm 33:20, which says to wait on the Lord, for he is our help and our shield. When I don’t wait on the Lord, I am open to attack and disappointment.

Join us in waiting on the Lord as we watch him lift burdens, rescue unborn babies, and save lives!