The Hidden Discipline in ‘Waiting’

This post is inspired by Daily Prompt: Overwhelming.

Waiting is hard. We wait in grocery lines, in traffic, in the doctor’s office. We twiddle our thumbs, stifle our yawns, and fret inwardly in frustration. On another level, we WAIT FOR A LETTER that doesn’t come, for a prodigal child to return, or for a spouse to change. We wait for a child we can hold in our arms. We wait for a pay raise. We wait for our heart’s desire. Little by little I’ve realized there is more to this than the disappointment that we temporarily feel.

In Psalm 40, David says, “I waited patiently for the Lord” The original language …here suggests that David waited and waited and waited” for God to answer his prayer. Yet as he looks back at this TIME OF DELAY, he praises GOD.

Through the discipline of waiting, we can develop the quieter virtues–submission, humility, patience, joyful endurance, persistence in well-doing–virtues that take the longest to learn.

What do we do when God seems to withhold our heart’s desire? He is able to help us to love and trust Him enough to accept the delay with joy and to see it as an opportunity to develop these virtues–and to PRAISE HIM.

Today, I receive that letter I’ve been waiting for–I’m going to study overseas with full-time scholarship. What can I say? The more I trust God, much more He amazes me. It’s truly overwhelming that I’ve come to learn all these through the discipline of waiting  #ThankfulHeart.