A Little Waddle as I Wait.

Wait.

Wait and I have a love/hate relationship and always have. Nobody seems to want to wait for anything these days. I am, however, notorious for my ability to delay gratification. I love to wait to open presents on my birthday, wait to tear into packages until I am home from the post office (these days that's an hour away), and I always wait to read mail later on when I am free to savor and soak in every word. It may seem strange to be this way in the give-it-to-me-now society of which we presently find ourselves. I secretly love the ability to refrain, holding back until the timing is perfect. As anticipation grows, so does my sense of excitement and delight. I will work harder, stay more focused, and gain a strength along the way when I know something good awaits me.

God knew that in this life of chasing after Him that we would find ourselves in many, many situations where we have to wait. A wise friend once taught me that waiting can't mean idleness nor is it passive. It takes fierce faith and active trust to wait on the promises of God. It is dangerous to hope in the whispers of God while waiting for a glimmer of confirmation on the horizon.

This week in Romans 8:25 I read,

“That is why waiting doesn't diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don't see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.”

Paul in this verse is describing humanity and all creation waiting upon the full deliverance into the Kingdom God. I find it poignant that he likens waiting on the promises of God to the waiting of a pregnant mother. As she waits, she grows. Whether or not she wants to wait, there is something being knitted together in her AS she waits that demands time. Though I myself have yet to be pregnant, I can tell you from watching my dear friend here in Botswana that the waiting of a pregnant mom is uncomfortable and painful along the way. However, we all know that the life created out of that hidden place deep within is more than worth the nine months of pain.

God knows that the seasons we wait upon Him will develop deeper levels of faith and trust in Him, and produce a deep, eternal work in us. There have been many seasons of my life where I am ashamed to say I have not allowed God to produce all that He could have as I was waiting. Sometimes I forget that the Creator of time doesn't waste it and is committed to finishing the work He has begun in me. When that means I must wait, He is faithful to ignore my whimpers and His Spirit is right alongside helping me along (Romans 8:26).

In these days as I wait upon the Lord, I intend to let the waiting enlarge the Kingdom of God in me. I have purposed to grow so joyful in expectancy and anticipation that like the massive belly of a pregnant mother people won't be able to easily maneuver around it. May the delight and joy from the hidden work God is doing inside of me enter a room before me, bump into strangers, and make me walk a little different.