W. A. I. T.

I waited patiently for the LORD;

he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Psalm 40:1

Perhaps waiting on the Lord would be an easier thing to do if it wasn’t for that pesky word: PATIENCE! Yet the testimony of David, an experience that led him to sing praise and call others to praise, was that he found that God rewarded his patient waiting. Thus waiting with patience has precedence for real answers. And so we are encouraged to be patient. I reflect on that process with a simple acrostic: W.A.I.T.

W - Who. Who I wait upon, not what I wait for is the most important focus.  I must worship the God on Whom I wait. I must realize that the wait looks directly to Him, and does not look at my perceived need or my persistent pain.

A - Attention. I mean this in three ways: 1) I pay attention to how I wait, purposefully making it about focusing on God’s power to change my situation. 2) I don’t wait to draw attention to myself. 3) I do wait to pay attention to the answer God will bring and in the waiting as a process itself there can be a growth in Christlikeness well worth all the patience.

I - Intention. I wait intentionally with purpose. I expect God hears me. I expect an eventual answer. I process the situation and I journal and reflect in a season of waiting which then creates a kind of purpose in the patience. This builds character, creates margin for me to really worship while I wait, and helps me find life lessons that are valuable in the waiting itself, which become part of the answer I seek.

T - Trust. Patient waiting on God will pull my trust from wrong sources such as self,  such as my own self-generated, limited options, such as worldly means. Instead it builds my faith as I trust the God Who inclines to me, hears my cry, and eventually lifts me up just like He did for David.

So I WAIT… with patience… for a purpose… praying and praising.