Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord! It will be said on that day, “Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for him; let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.” From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness. For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
Be patient, therefore, brothers, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, being patient about it, until it receives the early and the late rains. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. You also, be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord is at hand.
(Psalm 27:14; Isaiah 25:9; 64:4; Galatians 5:5; Psalm 62:5; James 5:7; Romans 8:23; James 5: 8)
“Waiting is indeed but an act of faith further stretched out. As an allegory is but a continued metaphor, so waiting is but a continuing to believe on God, and to look for help from him with submission, though he stays long ere he comes. Waiting is an act of faith resting on God; and an act of hope expecting help from him; an act of patience, the mind quietly contenting itself till God doth come; and of submission if he should not come.” —Thomas Goodwin
The above is from “Day Two” page 114 of the book Sacred Margins: On the Spiritual Life of a Writer
I’ve been waiting for the healing,
that once again I’ll thrive,
but I lately haithe feeling
that it never might arrive
and that the flood of beastly pain
would increase, and rise;
but I am here and I remain,
and much to my surprise
these are my very best of days,
for each day is a lovely flower
for which God gets my thanks and praise,
and I live every hour
full-alive and undejected
in a different healing, unexpected.
Oh, Andrew!! ((hugs)) and prayers continue!
Just what I needed today.
Imagine my surprise when I open my email to this post, and it is a delightful paraphrase of my morning conversation with God.
Waiting has beautiful moments wrapped in it, from hope to fulfillment.
I recall maybe 25+ years ago at an ACW conference where you were keynoting that you ended your message with encouragement from the scriptures like this and it was so powerful to receive the Word in this way. Powerful enough to keep it in mind after all these years. The Word of God is living and active, indeed. Thank you again for sharing it.
What a wonderful reminder to practice patience and be hopeful in the Lord. Especially when I just submitted a manuscript on Thursday! May God bless all of us who wait on his perfect timing. It’s not an easy thing to do.
Amber
What a gift. Thank you.
“…an act of faith further stretched out.” I LOVE IT!!!
I’m still on Day One of your book, Steve. Haven’t been able to get to it everyday because I want to take my time with it. What I’ve read (and underlined) so far has been just what I needed. Thank you!