Waiting Game

Lately, I've been in a season of waiting. A time where I know something big is bound to happen…just not yet. A season where things aren’t going quite the way I’d hope. A season of struggle. A “meantime”. Some people might even call this season a rut.  I have been waiting, yes, though not so patiently. I while back I was explaining these feelings to a friend over coffee, and she offered me some wisdom. (I’m so thankful to be surrounded by so many wise women). She shared with me a passage out of Jeremiah 29. When she started to speak about this chapter, I thought it was going to be the well-known and (too) oft-used Jeremiah 29:11, where the Lord declares, “For I know the plans I have for you, plans for welfare and not for evil, to give you a future and a hope.” The passage my friend encouraged me with was actually a few verses before this one. She led me to Jeremiah 29: 4-7:

“Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel, to all the exiles whom I have sent into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: Build houses and live in them; plant gardens and eat their produce. Take wives and have sons and daughters; take wives for your sons, and give your daughters in marriage, that they may bear sons and daughters; multiply there, and do not decrease. But seek the welfare of the city where I have sent you into exile, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will find your welfare.” (ESV)

In these verses the Lord is encouraging the Israelites to fully engage during their season of waiting. He doesn’t tell them to wish the season away; to make their own plans for the next season; to complain about the waiting. No, he tells them to build houses; to plant gardens and eat from them; to marry; to multiply; to seek the welfare of the city. He does not encourage them to hate the city because it isn’t their final (or desired) destination. Instead, they are to pray to the Lord on the city’s behalf.

So while I’m waiting, I pray that I can learn to really invest where I’m at, wherever that may be. That I could be a light in this moment instead of being so caught up with what the next moment might look like. That my current situation would be better because Jesus is in it.

Also, I pray that I can trust in the Lord in my waiting. That I would truly believe that no matter what circumstance or situation I find myself in, that He is in control and that He knows what is best for me, often even more than I do.

Bethany Dillon, one of my favorite Christian artists, recently came out with a new EP titled “To Those Who Wait”. The lyrics to the title track include:

“ Oh, my soul, wait on the Lord.
Keep your lamp filled with oil.
Oh, my soul, Be not deceived!
Wait for Him. Don’t be quick to leave.
Lord, today, You know what I need to do,
But you can do more in my waiting than in my doing I could do. So I won’t run anymore. I’m waiting on You.”

So as my ramblings for the day come to an end, I’m thankful – for wise friends, for Scripture, for God’s promises. I am trying to get better at waiting, of letting go of control and letting the Lord lead. Much easier said than done. But with His help and by His power I press (and wait) on.