[Scripture readings are in the Making It Personal portion of this devotion.]
Have you ever wondered how much of your life is spent waiting? We really don’t want to know. Waiting is so much a part of our lives that most businesses, doctors’ offices and hospitals have waiting rooms: a place designated to wait. Often we wait with more questions, then answers. A glance around these busy waiting rooms reveals that not everyone waits the same. Actually, how we respond to this time of forced waiting, gives us a peak into the internal reality of our hearts. There we most frequently find the petrified heart, the pacing heart, the puttering heart or the peace filled heart.
The petrified heart is immobilized by fear. The unknown looms ominously ahead. The questions evoke as much terror as any possible answer. It cannot or will not look ahead. Looking back only feeds the fear. For the pacing heart there are nothing but questions! How? Why? What if? Energy consuming anxiety exhausts, yet makes rests impossible. The puttering heart resolves to “just not think about it.” The logic is if we think about other things, busy ourselves with other activities, then time will pass and it will be over. The problem with puttering is the heart is not only distracted from the process of waiting, but from the purpose of waiting and from God specifically. What God wants us to discover in the waiting room of life is HIM. He is the answer we need to all those questions.
This brings us to the peace-filled heart. God intends waiting to be a process. It allows time for remembering and making new discoveries of who we are in Christ, what we truly believe to be true about our God, and remind us who is truly in control. The response of a heart that sees God in the situation, whatever that may be, will be praise. How much better it is to fill this ordained time of waiting with worship rather than worry! There is only one letter different between the Hebrew word shamar - “wait” and zamar - “sing.” Entrusted into His loving hands, He changes the waiting into singing. When praise flows out, peace floods in. Isaiah 26:3 promises that God keeps in perfect peace those who stay focused on Him simply because they trust Him.
In the days and years ahead, we will be drawn into the waiting room of life many times. Instead of quick solutions to the problem or prompt answers to our questions, may we seek to find a deeper discovery of our God. When we have a petrified heart, may we remind ourselves that He is love. His perfect love casts out fear. (1 John 4:18) When we have a pacing heart, may we anchor ourselves in His strength and stability. (Psalm 62:5,6) When we have a puttering heart, may His word redirect our thoughts and energy towards our God. (Psalm 130:5 and Isaiah 26:8) As we find ourselves in the waiting room, may Psalms 25:4,5 be our prayer. It is in His answering this prayer that our heart is filled with praise and peace, and our waiting room experience perfects our faith and results in His glory.
Making It Personal
In situations where you are forced to wait, which of these tend to describe your heart: petrified, pacing, puttering or peace?
Do you really feel you know how to wait in a way that leads to peace and praise?
God’s word teaches us how. In our translation of the Old Testament there are 9 words translated “wait.” Each one provides insight into how to wait:
· Qavah: to bind together by twisting, to wrap up in, be consumed by. Qavah waiting is to wrap yourself in who God is; to bind you and your situation to the very character of God. This is the most frequently used word translated “wait.” (Psalm 25:5; Psalm 52:9; Psalm 130:5; Hosea 12:6; Lamentations 3:26)
· Yachal: to wait with patience and hope, to tarry, to carry the pain or burden as long as necessary without losing hope or patience. Is is also translated “hope” and “trust.” Yachal waiting is to keep on keeping on, bearing the burden, inconvenience or whatever the current situation entails as long as necessary without losing focus that God is at work and has a prevailing purpose. (Micah 7:7; Psalm 31:24; the word “hope” is yachal in Psalm 130:5 and Lamentations 3:21-24)
· Chakah: to adhere, nail together. Chakah is an unwavering commitment to stick with something or someone. It takes the need and anchors it to who God is. Then, as long as you need to hang in there, you are also hanging on to the Lord. (Psalm 33:20; in Isaiah 30:18 – chakah is translated both “longs” and “wait”.)
· Shobar: analyze or scrutinize. Shobar waiting knows God is present and at work. It evaluates the situation specifically looking for the fingerprints of God. Also translated “look” and “hope.” (Psalms 104:27; Psalms 145:15; Psalms 119:166; Psalms 123:2)
· Shamar: to walk around looking for an opportunity. Shamar waiting is actively looking for an open door to do what you already know needs to be done. (Psalm 59:9; Psalm 130:6; Proverbs 8:34)
· Daman: to quiet self, hold one’s peace, become still, to silence. Daman waiting hushes up so you can hear the Lord when He speaks. This especially important if you find yourself constantly moaning, groaning and complaining about having to wait. (Psalm 62:5)
· Duwman: be silent; quietly wait. The big difference between daman awaiting and duwman waiting is the it is choosing not to say anything from the beginning, but to simply be still in His presence and wait till He speaks. (Lamentations 3:26)
· Duwmiyah: stillness, quiet trust. Duwmiyah waiting is to simply put your full trust in a trustworthy God. (Psalm 62:1: Psalm 130:6)
· Chuwl or chiyl: to twist or twirl, as to twiddle fingers or fiddle with something. This is usually our definition of waiting – do nothing, chill out, “waste” away the time while we wait. It is actually used the least in Scripture, only once as a matter of fact – Psalm 37:7. Chuwl waiting means to simply give God time to work in His perfect way and timing.
Which of these do you need to apply to your current situation that demands waiting?
