Waiting

My life right now can be described by one word: waiting. Yours may be that way too. We are waiting on orchestra rehearsals and other weekly church activities to resume, waiting for kids to be able to go back to school, waiting to go back into the office, and waiting for this pandemic to finally end. In my case, I’m waiting on a few other things. I’m waiting for my new book to be published, since the publisher merged with another this month, causing a delay. I’m also waiting for test results. My son, Luke, had someone in his office test positive a couple of weeks ago, so he was required to get tested himself, and he tested positive. Luke is experiencing no symptoms, but because we had been in contact with him a couple weeks ago, Mellonee and I have been quarantined and we got tested last week. We find ourselves waiting, once again!

I did a biblical word study on waiting last week and the concept of waiting is found throughout the scriptures. We are encouraged to wait on the Lord and to wait patiently, without complaint. One of the most familiar passages about waiting is found in Isaiah 40:31 –

Yet those who wait for the Lord

Will gain new strength;

They will mount up with wings like eagles,

They will run and not get tired,

They will walk and not become weary.

This goes against our intuition: we can actually gain strength while waiting? I believe this means that if we will use the time while we wait for prayer, Bible study, and seeking the Lord, then yes, we will be stronger for it. This is my prayer for you as you are in a season of waiting. Draw close to the Lord for guidance, and hopefully, when we all look back on this time, we will realize that God has grown and strengthened us through it!