Wait.

By Melody Mohnhaupt

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;

Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.

I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .

And the Master so gently said,"Wait." 

"Wait? You say wait?" my indignant reply.

"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"

Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard? 

By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word. 

My future and all to which I relate,

Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to Wait?" 

I'm needing a 'yes,' a go-ahead sign.

Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign. 

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, 

We need but to ask, and we shall receive. 

Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry: 

I'm weary of asking! I need a reply. 

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate, 

As my Master replied again, "Wait." 

So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, 

And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting . . . for what?" 

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .

And He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign. 

I could shake the heavens and darken the sun. 

I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run. 

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be. 

You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.

You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint. 

You'd not know the power that I give to the faint. 

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair; 

You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there. 

You'd not know the joy of resting in Me, 

When darkness and silence are all you can see. 

You'd never experience the fullness of love, 

When the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.

You would know that I give, and I save, for a start, 

But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart. 

The glow of My comfort late into the night, 

The faith that I give when you walk without sight. 

The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask, 

From an infinite God who makes what you have last. 

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee, 

What it means that My grace is sufficient for thee. 

Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true, 

But oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you. 

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see, 

That the greatest of gifts is to truly know me. 

And though oft My answers seem terribly late, 

My most precious answer of all is still “WAIT”.

by Russell Kelfer

As I read this for the first time this morning, I wept. Tears involuntarily came streaming down my cheeks. I relate so deeply to this poem. It’s almost as if the author dove straight into the depths of my heart and poured out the words I didn't know how to piece together. 

I apologize if this topic has been repetitive, but I can’t seem to shake it. The Lord has asked me to wait. Patiently and expectantly for him (as excruciating and tiresome as it may be). As I scanned through His Word this morning, I realized, for the first time, how many times it mentions waiting on the Lord; and not just to wait on Him, but what He promises to us when we do. 

Psalm 27:14

Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord.

Proverbs 20:22

… but wait on the Lord, and he shall save thee.

Isaiah 40:31

But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.

It’s easy to start questioning God when he asks us to simply wait. I know (just as the author expressed) that I start thinking, “Okay, God. Did you leave me? Did I fail you? Is that why you’re not coming through for me?” Foolishly neglecting the fact his word promises great things when I do wait on him. Because it hurts and it’s uncomfortable and confusing, we don't even consider the fact that this could be for our benefit.

Something special happens when we wait for the promises of God to come to pass, that only the waiting process (and trusting the Lord through it) can produce. God is intensional with his timing. If he gave us everything we asked for, as soon as we asked for it, there is so much we would miss. We would have no need to petition him, fast, pray, or to seek God with a fervency. We would never come to know who he really is. We would never see him as anything but our personal wish granter. The qualities he desires to build up within us would have no way of being generated. 

Joseph’s life is a perfect example of the faithfulness of God and a man who waited patiently for his promises to come to pass. After YEARS of one devastation after another, Joseph STILL trusted and waited on the Lord. He never once lashed out in anger and accused God of forsaking him. He never threw in the towel and said, This is what I get for serving God? Being sold into slavery, being falsely accused, being imprisoned! Some God he is! No thank you! I don’t want to serve this guy anymore!

Instead, he was faithful to wait on the Lord and, in return, God was faithful to Him! Even through the years of struggle and waiting, the Word says that God was always with Joseph. He never left him. He was his strength that carried him through. He restored everything that was lost in Joseph’s life, blessed him beyond measure, and created an amazing man through his trials. 

God has something to teach you THROUGH THE PROCESS of waiting! THROUGH the hard times. THROUGH the despair. Are you too busy whining for it to be over or are you looking to find what he’s wanting to do in you through it? You don’t need to worry. You don’t need to whine because he’s already promised you great things just for being willing to wait! He will give you the stamina to endure. He will be your strength. He promised. 

God wants our dependance to be completely in Him. HE needs to be our security. HE needs to be our expectation; not what he has promised us, or what we are asking of him. Why do we trick ourselves into thinking that the promise itself will fulfill us more than the One who fulfills the promises will? Read that sentence again and really think about it. 

He is enough. Not the promise. Him. We need to realize that. 

Waiting is hard. I certainly know this to be true. But, I also know that God has a purpose for all things. He desires our hearts to trust fully in him and to delight in him. We must be content in the Lord. If we’re not, if we’re always just waiting for the blessing, we’re missing the whole point. 

Jesus, help us to keep our eyes on you. Nothing you can offer us in this earthly life can come close to the greatness of simply knowing who you are. You are the best gift there is. Just you. 

- Melody Mohnhaupt