While we Wait

I attend a weekly bible study with a group of incredible and discerning women and this week as we discussed our lives someone asked the following question. What is your heart's posture while you wait? This evening all of us were dealing with being patient on GOD's timing for something. We felt like we were in a holding position. Some of us are waiting for answers to prayers. Others are waiting on a call to move while others are holding onto clarity about a situation. Why we are waiting doesn't matter as much as how we chose wait. And there's one person in the Old Testament who spent a considerable amount of time waiting. Abram is given a promise from GOD. One day his offspring would outnumber the sands on the beach or the stars in the sky. But this was not a promise that came true over days or weeks. No this took decades for even the first step to happen. In the process we see how Abram waited. In Genesis chapter 12:1 GOD directs a then 75 year old Abram to go from his country, and leave behind his community and family. Why is that? Because as we wait it is important for us to be mindful of who we cling to. Abram was cleaved from the familiar so that he could hold onto only GOD. GOD wanted to ensure that in this period of time that HE was keeping for himself, Abram had no where else to run to, nothing else to distract him from following GOD's calling wherever he went. I'm not saying that this is any way easy. Sometimes we even feel distant and don't hear GOD's voice. But even in those moments resist the urge to find solace or direction from people and push past the emotions towards GOD. HE's still there and won't leave us in the desert just like HE didn't leave Abram behind in that desert for too long. Secondly, we see how far Abram goes while waiting. In Genesis 12:8-9 we see that Abram pitches a tent and prays about where to go and once he has reached that destination he pitches yet another tent to pray about where he's going to go next. Calling to the LORD and searching for direction is not a one time event filled with despair. We are called to wait with persistence. It is in those repeated and consistent moments of supplication and humility that we see those next steps that GOD has ordered for us. Just as it says in Psalm 37:23. "The steps of a righteous man are established by the LORD, And HE delights in HIS way". Finally, we must resist the urge to act in our own strength or knowledge. In Genesis 16 Sarah and Abraham tried to build their family using Hagar as a surrogate . We all know too well what happens next and the eons of conflict that this simple act causes. Feeling stuck is not an uncommon problem. As humans we yearn for the next and for answers that seem so far off. However, it is completely yet another thing to choose to remain stuck. We must choose to remain unmoved until God tells us to move. It may not be when we expect it or how we expect it but choose to stay mired in that position. Not out of fear of the consequences but out of the boldness that only faith can produce. That confidence that no matter how long we wait, when we trust our steps to GOD it will be grander than any we could have taken ourselves. That's the process of going from Abram to Abraham. Waiting is not a passive action that we as Christians take. instead it is built on actively searching for God , actively resisting or urges to move , and persistently coming back to the only source who we trust had the answers. Rest assured that the same GOD who sustained Abraham all those years ago will continue to sustain HIS beloved even in this day and age.