Wait December 14, 2016

³¹ but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
    they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
    they shall walk and not faint.
Isaiah 40:31 ESV 

⁴⁹ Behold, I send out the promise of my Father on you. But wait in the city of Jerusalem until you are clothed with power from on high.”
Luke 24:49 WEB 

Wait.  Pretty clear directive but many unanswered questions.  How long?  What should I do when I wait?  How will I know when to stop waiting?  

Waiting is very difficult for me.  I get an idea, I want to move, go, make progress.  In looking back over my life, I cannot honestly think of any times when waiting has caused me loss or grief.  But my history is replete with self-imposed disasters and heart ache of not waiting. 

Wait for what?  Sometimes it will be for a clear word from God as to the action to take place.  Other times it will be for additional information to be collected.  Another time it might be for the right timing.  Regardless of why God says, "Wait," obedience dictates we wait.

Waiting may be so we receive an even bigger blessing.  It might be to avoid a ruinous decision.  Perhaps a waiting period is needed to let emotions calm down.

But waiting is not to be a time of inactivity.  We are to be active waiters.  We are not sitting in God's earthly waiting room mindlessly flipping through the pages of an old issue of Car and Driver.  Life goes on when we wait.  Prayer continues when we stand by.  We may be instructed to sit tight, but continue to seek God's guidance.