I wince at saying this on the tail end of that amazing scripture, but c’mon…truth is…waiting stinks!

Waiting is just plain hard. And if we are honest, we all hate to wait. Even so, there are times in our lives when we find ourselves in an impossible wait. Yet we have been trained by our fast paced culture to be painfully allergic to waiting.

Waiting makes us uncomfortable. It makes our skin crawl.  In the midst of our wait, our thoughts battle themselves desperate to take flight to higher ground where satisfaction is immediate and accessible. But that is so often an illusion, and waiting; our reality.

What are you waiting for?

A diagnosis…a proposal…a verdict…an answer?

We are living in a broken world; existing in a spiritual war zone. Fight or flight is our natural inclination as most of us are ill equipped and inexperienced in handling the weight of the wait.

So how do we appropriate what is needed to wait well?

The answer is simple. We learn to worship in the wait.

Worship? I can hear the crescendo of moans and groans even as I type. Probably because my own inner whiner is participating as well.  And by all measures that is a totally normal response. However, it’s imperative to our peace to move through this space of human debility into a place of spiritual exaltation. But how do we do this?

First and foremost, worship is an act of submission—a bending of the will per say. The problem—because we are human we are wired for pride. Most of what we do, why we do it, and how we react is motivated by a hard wiring of pride. And in situations where we are called to wait, pride is but a vapor.

We tirelessly chase after confidence and pride by trying to gain knowledge and understanding in order to put God in a box, to define Him in such a way that makes sense to our very limited concept of good and bad, right and wrong.

But God will never fit in a box. Never. So when His ways seem wild and unpredictable, we must remember who sits on the throne—Him, not us.

In appropriating our trust to Him in lieu of our own abilities or the abilities of broken people living on a broken planet, then and only then will we have a heart for worship.

So the big question is—How do we worship in the wait? Anytime we want to study worship in the Bible we probably head to the Psalms. David provides us a comprehensive roadmap for worship.

After all, worship is personal. Like David, we all worship the Lord in a myriad of ways. We see David display his worship with singing (I will spare you all that, you’re welcome). Other times he worshiped in prayer and fasting. Still other times in serving and giving. And we can’t deny his penchant for the written word. Some of the most beautiful words ever penned came straight from David’s heart.

Undoubtedly, all of these acts of worship were birthed out of a worshipful heart and a mind stayed on God. Therefore, it starts inside us and works its way out. Worship is a mindset; an attitude; a choice. We choose to take ourselves off the throne and place the onus and glory, the responsibility and honor where it belongs—in God alone.

This is how we get through the impossible wait. This is how we wait well. This is how we worship in the wait.

Reflect and Respond:

Take a moment to be still and quiet. What is it that has you in the wait? Do you trust God with the outcome? If you are struggling, ask Him to help you.

Hugs for a great week and remember, you are not alone. Be blessed as you learn how to worship in the wait.