This is part two of an article written by Lory Demshar, Chelmsford, Massachusetts. We will run the rest of the article over the next few weeks. Lory serves on the Teaching Team of the Boston Church of Christ.
Waiting is an active process, one in which God works and man works. Four of the most frequently used words for waiting are:
·qavah. which means (1) “to bind together” (suggesting twisting strands as in making a rope, Isaiah(40:31) , “look” patiently,” “tarry or wait,” and “hope, expect, look eagerly,”
·Yachal which means “to wait” or “wait expectantly/ wait in hope,” in the KJV it is translated “trust,” (Isaiah 51:5).
·Damam means “to be dumb, “grow silent, be still,”
·chakah, meaning “to wait, tarry,” or “long for” (Isa. 64:4; Ps. 33:20; 106:13; Isa.30:18).
Each of these words carries with it similar yet slightly different meanings to the concept wait. We see it involves being patient, which means we need to give God time to work. The definition involving binding might imply God working to twist or braid all circumstances together as we wait. I like to look at it as God binding us ever closer in relationship to Him as he works out His will in our lives. It is similar to how difficulties and trials within a loving family bind its members closer together.
Then
there is the word that implies waiting with expectation or hope.
Usually when I am expectant, I am confident and I work towards the end
I expect. Then there is waiting that involves being quiet, not
complaining, pushing or constantly questioning. The quietness aspect
may also have a component of “stillness,” which would imply we are not
actively pursuing our own will. In Ps. 46 it says, “… be still and know
that I am God”. Being still can be a time of learning and being refined
as we wait.
What is involved in “waiting on God?”
Wait in Faith – In Psalm 38:15; we are encouraged to wait in faith: “I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God.” In this verse the psalmist shows confidence/faith in God. In other words the psalmist is saying I will wait because I know, I am confident; I trust that God will answer me. He trusts in God’s power to help and God’s willingness to help him.Psalm 130:5 the scripture says, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope”.
In other words, in God’s waiting room the psalmist is trusting in the
Word of God. He is trusting God to fulfill his word. He is practicing
faith. When we are in God’s waiting room we must be in the Word of God
in order to sustain our trust in Him through time. Reading and
meditating on the word of God restores our perspective and builds up
our understanding and faith in God. At times when I am very discouraged
by circumstances, I sit down and remember how God has worked in the
lives of people in the Bible and in my life previously. I review events
in the Bible like the opening of the Red Sea, the walls of Jericho
coming down, Daniel in the lion’s den, Elijah in the contest on Mt.
Carmel, and so on. I remember that the God in these accounts is the
same God that I believe and trust in, and I am encouraged. It restores
my perspective of God working in my life.
I
wrestle with this. Sometimes I can know the truth intellectually that
God is willing to help me, but when I am in the midst of a lengthy
difficulty it is not so easy to believe. I start out seeing it clearly,
but as time moves on and things become more difficult or are not
working out the way I want them to, my ability to trust God’s goodness
towards me can falter. I lose perspective and begin thinking things
like, “God is not helping me,” “God is blessing others, but not me,”
“What have I done that God is punishing me?” Statements like these
reveal my lack of faith. My focus is on me, my feelings, my
understanding, my situation, but not on God. When this happens, I am
not waiting in faith.
