7 Months ago, we left California. Our life had taken a dramatic turn, two years previously, and we realized (after much prayer) that it was time for things to change. Since then, we have been waiting to see where we might actually land as we continue to wait for our ranch to sell. Our wait has involved listening, cautiously stepping, being patient, prayerfully checking-in, and doing everything we can to maintain a good attitude during the process. Waiting isn't easy.
What does it mean to wait? Imagine a dog and his master. There is a partnership there. The dog is commanded to "stay", but is constantly looking to the master for the next direction.
"Wait" is an action word.
Ephesians 6:13, "Therefore take up the whole armor of God that you may be able to resist the evil day, and having done all, to stand.
To stand.
To "Be still and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10).
To "Wait upon the Lord, be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart." (Psalm 27:14).
"They that wait upon the Lord will renew their strength." (Isaiah 40:31).
To wait takes partnership, action, and courage. To react is easy. To wait takes will-power and often supernatural strength found only in Him. To wait is to be still and alert.
I have a wii-fit board at home. It's attached to a video game and is meant for exercising. Exercising is an action, but one of the exercises is to sit on it and Be Still. The board measures your every movement and lets you know how much you actually move when trying to be still. It's very hard to be still enough to not set off the alarm. It's the same for me in life. I fidget. I'm a do-er. I get impatient. But... I'm learning to wait.
Wait involves trust. Back to the partnership... you have to trust that your partner is going to do His part if He's asking you to wait. You have to trust your ability to hear correctly when your partner asks you to move. This is a good time to take a look at "roots". Roots are ideas in your background that anchor you to a thought process, which in turn, causes you to act the way you do. A damaged root can cause damaged thinking and/or action. Do I trust God? Do I hear God? What, in my past, has caused me to believe the way I do about trusting/hearing (or not trusting/hearing) Him? Has there been an injury? Just as a break in your leg needs to be re-set in order to work properly, so may your root. Usually the fix involves some kind of forgiveness that needs to take place (just a helpful hint).
Waiting may not need to happen if there is no partnership involved. If there is no partnership, there is an imagined freedom. You will be alone in your decisions and alone in carrying the load of responsibility. Because the opportunities in my life are HUGE, I need someone huge to partner with. I need to know I'm not alone.
So here I am... continuing to wait. My focus will not be on what isn't happening, but on waiting to hear the next direction. Where my focus is, there I will travel and there is where my heart receives strength.
