“Walking around these walls
I thought by now they’d fall
But You have never failed me yet.
Waiting or change to come
Knowing the battle is won;
For You have never failed me yet.
I know the night won’t last
Your Word will come to pass
My heart will sing Your praise again.
Jesus, You are still enough
Keep me within Your love
My heart will sing Your praise again”
Your promise still stands, great is Your faithfulness, faithfulness.
I’m still in Your hands, this is my confidence; You’ve never failed me yet.
(Elevation Worship, 2016)

Take a moment to let those words sink in. It brings to mind many of David’s Psalms; “Why are you downcast, O my soul? Why the unease within me?…” Psalm 42:5(NLT). “I will say to God, my Rock, “Why have You forgotten me? Why must I walk in sorrow because of my enemy’s oppression?” Psalm 43:2 (NLT). David is a great example of the stretching, the refining, the struggle that our souls go through, that we often try to neglect or gloss over. A part of our journey that we are often too scared to voice, explore, or analyze. An interesting place of being. A place where we know God’s promises, we believe God’s promises, but we have not yet seen it. We are yet to witness the physical manifestation, the tangible evidence, of that which we have been promised. A place called ‘The Waiting Place’.

‘The Waiting Place’, it reminds me of one of my favourite Dr. Seuss books, “Oh The Places You’ll Go”. As often as I can, I read this book, and read to any persons who is willing to listen to me. I particularly ponder this part of the story;

“…You can get so confused that you’ll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space
headed, I fear, for the most useless place
The Waiting Place
for people just waiting.
Waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go,
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a Yes or a No
or waiting for their hair to grow
Everyone is just waiting…” (Seuss, 1990)

‘The Waiting Place’. How often does it seem like we cannot figure out how to escape from this place. Waiting, anticipating, looking forward to. We run at a speed that we cannot sustain, in hopes to be able to figure out how to leave the place behind; to get to the other side, the “better” side, the “easier” place. But still, we wait, waiting, holding on, though the promises are not yet seen. Believing in what is to come, even though everything going on around seems to give credence to the fears and worries weighing on our minds. The fear that we will remain in the waiting forever. Waiting, waiting, just waiting.

The reality is that waiting is inevitable. From the day that we are born, to the day we die; we wait for something each and every day. We spend a lot of our time, a lot of our life, waiting. So isn’t it time that we allowed ourselves to intentionally explore the waiting? To analyze ‘The Waiting Place’? To discover what waiting truly is? To consider how we use the abundance of time allotted to waiting,  and ensure that we wait well. If I can sum it all up in one question; Who are you allowing yourself to become in the waiting?

Waiting is not easy, but have you ever thought about the ‘places you’ll go’ if you begin to understand its value? How are you letting the time of waiting refine you, no matter how frustrating, no matter how terrifying? The scariest thing about waiting is not the wait in itself, but coming out of the waiting period to find that you had not allowed yourself to be adequately prepared for what awaited you on the other side. The saddest thing about waiting is that sometimes, you get to the other side and wish you were not there at all, because you are not ready. The most frustrating thing about waiting is that you often get so focused on escaping the waiting place, that you lose sight of what exactly you are trying to escape towards. You compromise the promise,  you neglect the purpose, you lose sight of the most important objective; “not I, but Him: (Galatians 2:20). Who are you allowing yourself to become in the waiting?

We often think that our greatest blessings lie in the promises. We often think that we are meant to collect miracles and blessings like one gathers a collector’s item. We often transact with God on a business level, where He is our supplier, and we demand. But, have we ever taken a moment to pause and ponder this; the waiting is the blessing. The waiting is His greatest desire for us. The place where we learn to be still in His presence. The place where we learn to hold on firmly, truly, wholly, to Him. The place where we learn to listen to His still small voice. The place where we are pruned, sifted, and refined. The place where we are given insight not only into His works, but into His ways. The place where we cultivate intimacy like no other, with the One that created the whole universe, and calls us His own. What could be a greater blessing than this? What else could measure up to this? ‘The Waiting Place’, where surrender and humility become the air that we breathe. ‘The Waiting Place’, where we learn to “soar on wings like Eagles”, for Eagles fly best in storms; and “run without getting weary”, for He is the wind carrying us (Isaiah 40:31). His promises are sure. They never return to Him without fulfilling what He sent them to accomplish (Isaiah 55:11). But do we miss it because we neglect the waiting?

“In the crushing
In the pressing
You are making new wine.
In the soil, I now surrender
You are breaking new ground
So I yield to You and to Your careful hands 
When I trust You I don’t need to understand
Make me a vessel
Make me an offering
Make me whatever You want me to be
I came here with nothing
But all You have given me
Jesus, bring new wine out of me.”
(Hillsong Worship, 2018).

Take a moment to let these words sink in.
Who are you allowing yourself to become in the waiting?
Who do you want to become while in ‘The Waiting Place’? 

References:

Bible Hub. Online Bible Study Suite, 2004-2016, biblehub.com.

Elevation Worship. (2016). Speak Revival: Do It Again. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0B_lnQIITxU

Hillsong Worship. (2018). There Is More: New Wine. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1ozGKlOzEVc

Seuss, Dr. (1990). Oh, the Places You’ll Go! Retrieved from http://benavidez5thgrade.weebly.com/uploads/8/6/7/3/86734958/oh-the-places-youll-go-by-dr-seuss.pdf

YouVersion. Holy Bible. New Living Translation. 2015. Tyndale House Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.bible.com/