I’ve struggled for several years with the idea of waiting. At what point does God call us to wait and at what point does He call us to move?
There are many scriptures that talk about waiting. The Psalms talk about waiting on the Lord continually. And the Bible is filled with people who were faithful to God for a long time before they were given their “task” for the Lord. I feel like I tend to be so busy “doing” that I’m not being faithful in my “waiting”.
I’m working on starting a new ministry in our church. We met a couple of weeks ago and the ministry was compared to “a big rock”. And we pondered why it seemed so hard to get that rock rolling. Someone suggested that perhaps the rock is flat on one side. We also pondered about when things don’t seem to get off the ground, is that God’s direction to have us wait? Or, is that just a hurdle that God wants us to overcome?
We can certainly bring in the “call” word here. And I personally struggle with that. If I see a need, I often respond by trying to meet that need. The “call” comes from being adaptable and responding to that need. Do I need to pray and ask God for wisdom when I see a need? By the time I might sense a clear answer, that opportunity may be long gone. But then, is that necessarily a bad thing?
God often calls (there’s that word!) people to act in a way thats contrary to their nature. My nature is one of responding. Thus, I DO tend to wait at times. I allow the situation, the circumstances to dictate my actions. I’ve beat myself up over this for a long time. As I tend to find out more about myself, I see that this fits my Adaptable personality. I thrive in adaptable situations. It’s a responsive tendency rather than an offensive strategy. I often wish I were more “offensive”. But, that goes against my nature. Not that God would absolutely have us act differently than our nature. After all, He created us in unique specific ways. Why then, would He ask us to be other than who we are? Or does He?
I was part of a conversation last night where we talked about God putting things in our lap from which we often take our cues. How does, or does planning play a role in this? Am I supposed to just react to whatever comes my way? I have “given up” things in life only to have God put them back in my lap. But at this point, there seems to be so many things “in my lap” that I feel like I have to choose. Which is a bit contrary to my nature.
I suppose I can blame some of this on my father (doesn’t it always go back to blaming the parents?!). HIs teaching me how to do things? His MO was to have me pay attention, see what needs to be done and then do it. Yes, it was thinking ahead, but it was thinking ahead in the moment. It wasn’t see what needs to be done in 6 months. It was, predict what size wrench he’d need based on what/where he’s working and then have that wrench available as soon as he needed it.
On the flip side of having to make a choice, I often feel like though there are many things I COULD be doing, my “call” isn’t so clear. If I have to choose something, what should it be? I tend to have (and like to have) many irons in the fire. However, when I’ve been the most “successful” those irons were all used to shoe the same horse. Many things, all working together to fulfill a common good or purpose. Right now, I feel a little disjointed.
I suppose I’m looking for that specific call, that “horse” which needs to be shoed. And once again, God is “just” calling me to be faithful to Him. Daily. Hourly. In every moment and decision in my life. That’s the mission. Though not very “exciting” in it’s outward appearance, it’s the stuff from which a solid foundation is built.
And so I wait.
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.Ps. 27:13-14
