The Waiting Place

The Waiting Place

God’s plan is so much bigger than my plan. When I get frustrated that “my plan” isn’t happening as quickly as I would like, I have to remind myself that God’s sovereign plan is in effect. If I will quit trying to help him and hurry him along, I can walk calmly beside the still waters where he promises to restore my soul. (Psalm 23)

I am very fond of the writings of Oswald Chambers. In one of his writings titled “When Vision Becomes Reality,” he says, “God has to take us into the valley and put us through fires and floods to batter us into shape, until we get to the point where He can trust us with the reality of the vision.” He goes on to talk about the importance of waiting on the Lord after receiving a vision from him. How will we “go out” if the vision isn’t real inside of us? How can we ever hope to accomplish the vision if we don’t allow the Holy Spirit to do his work?

Being adventurous and spontaneous is not a challenge for me. I like change.
What I don’t like, is waiting. I’m pretty terrible at it. One of my favorite books by Dr. Seuss is “Oh, the Places You’ll Go!”. In this book, he describes “The Waiting Place,” a place we all come to while off on our adventure. People there are waiting for “a string of pearls or a pair of pants or a wig with curls or another chance…everyone is just…waiting.” It reminds me that this Waiting Place is to be expected, and this time of waiting is only temporary. 

This waiting season has been very challenging for me, but I have learned so much! The Lord is so patient. I have developed a new adoration for his steadfast love and faithfulness. I am reminded that “Those who WAIT upon the Lord will renew their strength and mount up with wings as eagles, they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). Why is the strength found in the waiting? 

I believe we find our strength in the waiting because it is there - in the valley, in the waiting place- that we are confronted with our sin, our doubt, our shortcomings, our selfishness, and our failures. While we wait, we cry out to the Lord! We go to him for our daily bread. He becomes our everything, and that is where we find our strength- because it’s not OUR strength at all. We are emptied of all of us, and we are filled with all of him.

When he puts us through the floods and fires, he is accomplishing something if we will let him. Too often we beg and plead for the battering to stop, and by doing that, we stop the work of purification. He is trying to get us to the point that he can trust us with the vision. 

Lord, my Shepherd, lead me through this valley with your rod and staff. Don’t hold back the floods and fires that will shape me into the vision you have given me. Continue your work in, and through me, Holy Spirit. When my heart and flesh grow weary, be my strength and my song. My life is in your hands, and I trust you. To have you trust me with this precious vision would be my greatest joy.