It’s been one of those days.
Growing up, one of my favorite books was Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day, by Judith Viorst. It is the story of Alexander, who is having a rough day and, despite his best efforts, cannot seem to escape the funk he finds himself in. Instead, poor Alexander finds himself moving from one activity to the next and getting caught up in unexpected delays and inadvertent mishaps.
Well, today is like that for me. Despite my best efforts and LARGE amounts of coffee, I feel like I am stumbling through the day, and in desperation, I snuck away on my lunch break to have some much-needed time with Jesus to gain some perspective. Thankfully, I ran across the following verse:
I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and let you heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord.
Psalm 27:13-14 (NASB)
Thinking back on my angst about the day, it really comes down to one thing: I’m in a season of waiting, and I HATE waiting! I am waiting for breakthrough, waiting for direction, waiting for reprieve in some areas. Can you relate? So much of life is spent in waiting that it is easy to feel like life is in a holding pattern. Today, I was reminded that our lives happen in the waiting, that God meets us in the waiting. The words of David in Psalm 27 are so encouraging. The word wait in this context means to lean in with expectancy.
So for now, that’s what I plan to do. What about you? Instead of getting weary from the season of waiting and allowing the angst to steal our joy, let’s lean in to the waiting, knowing that God is faithful. Just as Psalm 27 says, we will see the goodness of the Lord. Where are you waiting to see God’s faithfulness in your life? I encourage you to hold on to the promises of God and lean in to the season of waiting.
Second only to suffering, waiting may be the greatest teacher and trainer in godliness, maturity, and genuine spirituality most of us ever encounter.
Author Richard Hendrix