The Season of Wait

I have wrestled with God for two days about writing this post.   Guess who won?   I didn't want certain people in my life to think I was trying to preach to them or anything like that, but God has this heavy on my heart and so I will be obedient.   I've learned that being obedient is the only thing that will work anyway, so I am wasting my time doing anything else.   Let me first say that everything I will write tonight is straight from my personal struggle with this season...if it seems like I'm "reading your mail", I'm not.   I have found myself in a season of wait.   I don't like it.   I have fought against it.   But God has a purpose for it...so, it's where I must be.

So, what is a season of wait?   It is a time in your life (and you may go through it many times over), when God simply tells you to wait for a period of time.    Sometimes it is an extended period of time. God has three answers to our prayers: yes, no and wait.   We all like yes!!  No one in their right mind likes no!   But I think the worst of all is wait.   Waiting requires discipline.   It is not fun.  

When Jeff passed away, a new season began for me.   Even though I was grieved by the loss of my husband, I was excited about a new season and all that God had in store for me.   But when it became evident that this season is the season of wait, well, I'll just be honest...I was peeved!!!   I mean seriously, after all I've been through, now you want me to wait?   I don't know if there is a more excruciating season that I could be in right now.   When I tell you I hate this... I mean I really, REALLY hate this.  

Today, I was especially struggling with this.   People want to know what my plans are for the future...shoot, I want to know what my plans are for the future!!!    But I don't have anything concrete yet.   I have a desire to teach and preach, to mentor and counsel.  I know I am called to ministry, but what that will look like for Libby McFalls (minus Jeff) is still very unclear.   I have begged God for clarity on this matter.   But all I get is "Wait".

Yesterday, was a particularly terrible, horrible, very bad, no good day for me!!   I sobbed all day long and long into the night.   I woke up this morning and my eyelids were about an inch thick.  Ugggh!   But yesterday, during my despair, God brought a couple of Bible stories to my mind.

The first is found in 1st Kings 17:1-5.   Elijah delivered some not so good news to Ahab that the next few years were not going to be much fun.   I'm sure that Ahab was not delighted.    Then God tells Elijah to go to the Kerith Ravine and hide out (or wait).   He tells him to drink from the brook and that He has ordered the ravens to feed him there.    Now, if I'm Elijah, I'm thinking, "Ok, but then where do you want me to go?  What do you want me to do?   What is the next big thing?   How can I be used...especially in a ravine, all by myself with a bunch of crows?  And really, crows?   I have to eat from crows?  Surely there must be more..."    But God didn't tell him to "do" anything there...just wait.   Wait...   Wait...   And I almost missed a very important part of the story... "I have ordered the ravens to feed you there".    What if Elijah had found waiting to be too mundane?    What if he had just spent the night there and then moved on in search of his next assignment?  What if he had said, "Ravens?  Seriously?"     God had ordered the ravens to feed him THERE...if he had moved on, he would have missed the nourishment that God had already provided for him.   When God tells us to wait, then doing anything else to rush the process along will only end in us missing the blessing of God.   His provision is based on his time table, not on ours.   Understanding that is key to our finding fulfillment.

The second passage that came to my mind was found in Isaiah 40:27-31.   God's people are tired and weary here..and they are doing what we do when we are tired and weary...complaining.   He reminds His people that  He will not grow tired or weary...we can't fathom that.   Imagine having a blink contest with God...He never gets tired...He can out wait the best of us!   Keep reading... those who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength...   I used to think that meant wait as in rest...be completely still.   But before Jeff passed away, he shed a different light on this text.    Perhaps, when God says wait here, He is referring to what a waiter in a restaurant would do.   He is saying wait...as in serve...   Serve the Lord, until I give you your next assignment.     Serve Him, wait upon Him and your strength will be renewed.   Serve Him, wait upon Him and you will soar like an eagle.   Likewise, if you choose not to wait, then don't expect to be renewed or to soar.   The provision is directly lined up with our obedience.

God's promise of provision comes when we are obedient in the season of wait.   No, it is not a fun season.   It may be a very long season, but one thing is certain...if God has called you to a season of wait, you cannot find provision anywhere else.   And don't think you can out wait God and bypass this season by doing it your way.  Oh, He will let you...but the provision will not be there.   Satan may trick you for a time into thinking you've found it...but you'll soon find yourself feeling empty and dry. Why?  Because your provision (your ravens) are THERE where He told you to wait.   Only when you return to the season of wait will you find the provision He has for you.  

Lord, help me to not complain in this season of wait that you have for me.   Help me to find ways to serve until your provision comes.   Lord, let my strength be renewed as you feed me THERE...teach me Lord, teach me Lord to wait.