Isaiah 40:31"but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint."
I've found in this 'instant' society, waiting is very, very hard. We complain when the internet is slow, forgetting that to get information in the 'old' days we were forced to take a pleasant walk to the library.
Perhaps that is why we find it so very, very hard to wait for God. We want answers NOW!!! Why can't God be like Google? We take our problems to him, like he tells us to, and nothing happens for ages and ages, so we start to question whether he is there at all.
This verse just goes straight home for me. "Hope," is future tense. Not only does it warn us that there will be some waiting, but that God is enough in the meantime. This is where the trust comes in, I think. God is a patient God (leaving aside the whole creation in six days thing). He does work things out, but in his own time. Moses was 80 when he started working for God. Samson had to wait for his hair to grow back before God would make his move.
Galatians tells us that one of the fruit of the Spirit is Patience. So we were made for patience, and God wants to restore that patience. Not a jittery, "notice I'm being patient," patience. But a patience that doesn't mind sitting in the sunshine, because the bus is late. This is a patience that sees the wait, not as a waste of time, but as an opportunity for something else "in the meantime."
Jesus compares us to plants so often. Wheat, vines, fig trees, fruits, etc. Not by accident, I think. Plants take time to grow. Some bear fruit every year, and take years to grow. The "mustard seed" must take years to get to the stage when it can be any use to the birds as a home.
I've found I've been waiting a lot, lately. Waiting for healing from my illness, waiting for my hard work in my online art business to pay off. And I really hope, as I keep close contact with the Boss, that he will continue to show me the opportunities "in the meantime."
I hope he shows them to you, too.
Love and blessings,
Shan.
