Wait for Your Miracle
Written by Susan Chan
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
Psalms 27:14
Nobody likes to wait but waiting is a reality of life, and we can’t escape waiting e.g. pregnancy and waiting for child to be born; waiting at doctor’s clinic; waiting for medical report; waiting for exam results; waiting for result of job application, and so on.
I don’t like waiting but I had to wait. I waited 5 years to have my first child. I endured three miscarriages and one still birth before I became a mother. Then I waited 25 years before I fulfilled God’s calling to go on foreign missions, to teach and preach publicly. But in the course of the waiting, God had worked miracle after miracle in my life. He had refined me and honed me into the vessel fit for His use and glory.
God often requires waiting before He does something great in and through the leaders He chooses. In the Bible we encounter several women who waited on God for their personal miracle. Sarah together with Abraham, waited 27 years before they received the son God promised them. Hannah waited several years before she conceived Samuel, and prophetess Anna waited many years until her sunset years, to see the promised Messiah.
Focussing on Hannah, I gleaned spiritual lessons on how to wait on God. Her attitude during the time of waiting should be emulated. Hannah was barren and suffered humiliation and shame, as her culture and times devalued women who were sterile. In addition, she endured family conflict due to the polygamous marriage of her husband. Despite her dire circumstances and hopeless prospect for a happy family, she demonstrated resilient faith, a winning attitude which trumps all negative outcomes. We observe these wonderful spiritual traits in her time of waiting:
She waited patiently, did not complain or whine.
She persevered in her difficult circumstances.
She kept her faith and trust in God.
She clung tightly to God.
She was proactive in spiritual disciplines.
She prayed unceasingly.
But exactly what do we do while waiting?
Waiting is not being idle or passive. There are many references to the word ‘wait’ and ‘waiting’ in the Bible. Wait, in the biblical sense, is not a passive waiting around doing nothing. Waiting does not mean fatalistic resignation, “ Whatever will be, will be”. It is not a way to evade unpleasant reality. Waiting is the confident, disciplined, expectant, active, and sometimes painful clinging to God, knowing that we will reap a reward.
The Hebrew word qavah means, “to bind together”. It is not sitting in a corner, waiting patiently or being quiet. It is about binding together with Him. To be entwined with Him. The same word is used in Isaiah 40:31 “But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength”; “Waiting” is a proactive stance of drawing close to God” (Melissa Tumino).
In the New Testament, the word wait is perimenō in the Greek. It means “to abide, to tarry, to continue to be present, to last, and endure.” It is one of the words used in John 15:5 where Jesus said, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me, you can do nothing.” Therefore, to bind with Him is to be present with Him.
What are the benefits of waiting?
1. God Works While We Wait
Something actually happens while nothing seems to be happening. God uses waiting to change us. God wants us to learn how to follow him and put down our demanding selves - to calm that fretful child in us. One way He helps us do this is to say, “Wait.” That miserable, uncomfortable, sometimes painful state of silence is one of God’s most powerful tools to set us free from our narcissistic and self-centred pre-occupation.
2. We Listen and Hear from God When We Wait
That’s also the place we can hear Him more clearly. That’s how it is in the spiritual - the closer we get to the Lord, the easier it will be to hear and discern His voice.
As Christians we face this dilemma. While society makes every attempt to make our life easier and faster as with new technology, God works on a very different timetable. In fact, waiting can actually be a positive good that He often uses to make us more like his Son. We humans hate waiting for the things we want but we need to know that waiting is in God’s agenda; His SOP (system of operation).
Prayer: Lord give me patience and understanding as I wait on you.
