Waiting Part 3
Whew…I come to this part 3 of this mini-blog series with relief that I can share what God has been giving me through this Scripture reference for a couple of years now. And as I do, obediently, I am learning MORE of what He is trying to communicate to me personally. He is such a good, good Father….with obedience being His favorite love language. I can easily forget that and resist those promptings and then when I do pursue Him – waiting…I do receive exactly what my heart is longing for!!
So here we are, examining the physical part of what we receive when we pursue the Lord…we will be able to run and walk without becoming tired or weary! That sounds amazing to me!
Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.
Run is translated as doing thing swiftly, rapidly, and walk is to move about, move forward.
That is what I WANT! The new strength to move quickly and forward into the things God has for me, without getting tired or weary!
So here in the time of quarantine, where there is still so much unknown about moving forward and how quickly we may be able to do so, this brings me comfort to know that I am in the spot where I can receive MOST what I need the MOST….waiting (remember Part 1 – clinging to Him, pursuing Him) and receiving the promise of gaining new strength (Part 2).
God has given us every spiritual blessing that we need already. (Eph 3:1) This is often forgotten, when we face circumstances that seem to overwhelm us, or appear to be devastating such as this pandemic and the grief that we have all be walking in due to so many results of our shutdown such as loss of physical community, loss of a job, and even the loss of a loved one. I know I can easily choose to fall into panic, of looking for some way to control the circumstances that feel so.out.of.control!! When there is turmoil and I forget this “waiting process” and lean on my own understanding to try to work through it I have been known to frantically clean my house – as that provides tangible results and I can control that! I also confess that I can appear “controlling” to those around me by asking snarky questions like “what are you doing today?” or “when are you going to finish that project..(and maybe adding a biting qualifier, like …”that has been sitting there for years!”) I have begun to notice this, and am choosing (and it is a hard choice some days!!) to turn into God, to pursue Him on a walk, by reading His Word, by asking a friend to pray for me and it is there that I do feel renewed. It is with Him where I can gather some strength to do the things I need to move into. I notice I can do so without being tired or weary either. What are you noticing about your own reaction to things you cannot control? What might you want to change, ever so slightly, to shift into a waiting posture?
This Old Testament Prophet Isaiah has so much wisdom on how to live out the lives we were created to live while going through turmoil. Who knew? God sure did and I am so grateful for His word where we can learn more about how He operates and what our part is in the relationship with Him. We do have a part – we must receive and respond. Everything that we have been given…grace, salvation, love, all the fruits...our part in this relationship is first receiving and then responding. What do you need to receive today? And what is your response?