WAIT EXPECTANTLY

Psalm 27: 7-8: Hear me as I pray, O Lord. Be merciful and answer me! My heart has heard you say, “Come and talk with me.” And my heart responds, “Lord, I am coming.”

Last evening I contacted a good friend to have her pray for me. I was feeling without direction at the moment and I knew she would do ask I requested. Even though I feel directionless, I don’t feel lost, confused or depressed. But, I know this is time to really listen to God so I remain on his path for me.

Today my friend prodded me to study the Psalms. She said she really felt like God was telling me to wait on Him. I am the type of person who always has to have a project she says. And sometimes God takes away the projects and leaves nothing so I can hear him better.

It’s not as if I don’t have anything to do. After all, I am a small group leader, facilitator of a Divorce Care workshop, involved in our drama ministry all on top of working two jobs. But, these things are leaving me wondering when I have time to finish the book I started and push toward the ministry of speaking and writing I really feel called to do.

I was tempted to mindlessly watch TV, surf the net, get caught up in my addiction to Facebook, lose myself in a good book or even wander through my own thought processes planning the path to get what I wanted. But, I knew what she says was true. So, I took her advice and found a reoccurring theme that spoke volumes to me.

While I found many passages on waiting…what struck me more was the ones I found right along side them. God wants to give me the desires of my heart. So, waiting and wanting go hand-in-hand. Hmmm—a novel concept indeed! Well…ok….I know this. But, I needed to be gently reminded of it.

The theme goes like this:

Psalm 5:3 – Listen to my voice in the morning, Lord. Each morning I bring my requests to you and wait expectantly.

Psalm 17:6 – I am praying to you because I know you will answer, O God. Bend down and listen as I pray.

Psalm 27:14 – Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

I come to him before anything else happens in my day, make my requests and believe that he will provide. This is an expectant anticipation—an active stillness through obedient prayer. I pray…and leave it to God. Then I pay attention to the details of what is going on around me and look for signs that he is leading me. All day long I put my hope in him (Psalm 25:5).

Psalm 20:4 – May he grant your heart’s desires and make all your plans succeed.

Psalm 21:2 – For you have given him his heart’s desire; you have withheld nothing he requested.

Psalm 37:4 – Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you your heart’s desires. Commit everything you do to the Lord. Trust him, and he will help you.

The paradox is that God actually places the desires of my heart within me. He knows me better than I know myself. And instead of going down my own path, he guides my direction so I can accomplish what he wants me to do…which ultimately ends in being my own desire.

Oh…wait. Following that verse about giving me my heart’s desire is Psalm 37:7, Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act.

Seems to me that my road is clearly marked. So, I am committed to being still in the moments I have and wait for God to call my next shot. Who knows what adventure awaits me…in doing something I never dreamed possible without God’s guidance.