Sunday, November 9, 2014

While I'm Waiting

My girlfriend recently told me about a song called While I'm Waiting. I think we spend more time in waiting than we realize. Waiting to get a boyfriend. Waiting to get engaged. Waiting to get married. Waiting to start a family. Waiting to get pregnant. Waiting for the baby to come. Waiting for the kids to grow up. Waiting to move. Waiting to buy a house. Waiting to get a promotion. Waiting to be healed. There's got to be something on that list for everyone....Here are the song lyrics:

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord     
And I am hopeful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it is painful
But patiently, I will wait

I will move ahead, bold and confident
Taking every step in obedience
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
While I'm waiting
I will worship
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Yes, I will wait

I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve You while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting
I will serve you while I'm waiting
I will worship while I'm waiting on You, Lord

Although this isn't really my type of music, I think the reason this song pierced me so hard is the Biblical accuracy of it. Scriptures kept coming to mind as I listened to the song, so one night I mapped them out to match up with the lyrics of the song. Here is what I came up with:

I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord    
The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. (Lamentations 3:25)
And I am hopeful
Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. (Romans 5:3-5)
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. (Proverbs 3:5)
Though it is painful
Hear, O Lord, and be merciful to me! O Lord, be my helper! (Psalm 30:10)
But patiently, I will wait
And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you. (1 Peter 5:10)
I will move ahead, bold and confident
Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go. (Joshua 1:9)
Taking every step in obedience
He fulfills the desire of those who fear him; he also hears their cry and saves them! (Psalm 145:91)
While I'm waiting
I will serve You
Therefore let those who suffer according to God’s will entrust their souls to a faithful Creator while doing good. (1 Peter 4:19)
While I'm waiting
I will worship
I will give thanks to the Lord with my whole heart; I will recount all of your wonderful deeds. I will be glad and exult in you; I will sing praise to your name, O Most High. (Psalm 9:1-2)
While I'm waiting
I will not faint
But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
I'll be running the race
Even while I wait
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:14)
I'm waiting
I'm waiting on You, Lord
Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:20)
And I am peaceful
I'm waiting on You, Lord
You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you. (Isaiah 26:3)
Though it's not easy
But faithfully, I will wait
Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him. (Isaiah 30:18)
Yes, I will wait
Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness. And let steadfastness have its full effect, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing. (James 1:2-4)

These scriptures barely scratch the surface; the Lord anticipated that His people would spend much time in waiting and has a lot to say about it. In doing this study, I began to realize that waiting doesn't have to be passive. It doesn't have to be the back-up plan. Waiting can be active, and it can joyfully become the anthem for the season of life you are in. We can exchange sad, powerless, and hopeless waiting for courageous, steadfast, and hopeful waiting. This has changed my outlook on this season in our lives, and I'm confident this is one of the many things the Lord has desired to teach me during this struggle of trying to get pregnant again. I'm very grateful, as I would not have been driven to study this topic otherwise...and based on how much waiting is involved in life, I'm thankful to understand this new way to look at it!