“Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him. ” ~ Isaiah 30:18 ~
“Wait is a verb.” ~ Sandra ~
“To trust in spite of the look of being forsaken; to keep crying out into the vast, whence comes no returning voice, and where seems no hearing; to see the machinery of the world pauselessly grinding on as if self-moved, caring for no life, nor shifting a hair-breadth for all entreaty, and yet believe that God is awake and utterly loving; to desire nothing but what comes meant for us from His hand; to wait patiently, ready to die of hunger, fearing only lest faith should fail–such is the victory that overcometh the world, such is faith indeed.” ~ George MacDonald ~
“The more we let God take over, the more truly ourselves we become.” ~ C S Lewis ~
“Patience is not simply the ability to wait – it’s how we behave while we’re waiting.” ~ Joyce Meyer ~
“It may seem an easy thing to wait, but it is one of the postures which a Christian soldier learns not without years of teaching. Marching and quick-marching are much easier to God’s warriors than standing still. There are hours of perplexity when the most willing spirit, anxiously desirous to serve the Lord, knows not what party to take. Then what shall it do? Vex itself by despair? Fly back in cowardice, turn to the right hand in fear, or rush forward in presumption? No, but simply wait. Wait in prayer, however. Call upon God, and spread the case before Him; tell Him your difficulty, and plead His promise of aid. In dilemmas between one duty and another, it is sweet to be humble as a child, and wait with simplicity of soul upon the Lord. It is sure to be well with us when we feel and know our own folly, and are heartily willing to be guided by the will of God. But wait in faith. Express your unstaggering confidence in Him; for unfaithful, untrusting waiting, it is but an insult to the Lord. Believe that if He keeps you tarrying even till midnight, yet He will come at the right time; the vision shall come and shall not tarry. Wait in quiet patience, not rebelling because you are under the affliction, but blessing your God for it. Never murmur against the second cause, as the children of Israel did against Moses; never wish you could go back to the world again, but accept the case as it is, and put it as it stands, simply and with your whole heart, without any self-will, into the hand of your covenant God, saying, “Now, Lord, not my will, but thine be done. I know not what to do; I am brought to extremities, but I will wait until thou shalt cleave the floods, or drive back my foes. I will wait; if thou keep me many a day, for my heart is fixed upon thee alone, O God, and my spirit waiteth for thee in full conviction that thou wilt yet be my joy and my salvation, my refuge and my strong tower.” ~ C H Spurgeon, listen here ~
“Each life is made up of mistakes and learning, waiting and growing, practicing patience and being persistent.” ~ Billy Graham ~
“Waiting is painful. Forgetting is painful. But not knowing which to do is the worst kind of suffering.” ~ Paulo Coelho ~
“I do not know why there is this difference, but I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait. When you do enter your room, you will find that the long wait has done you some kind of good which you would not have had otherwise. But you must regard it as waiting, not as camping. You must keep on praying for light: and of course, even in the hall, you must begin trying to obey the rules which are common to the whole house. And above all you must be asking which door is the true one; not which pleases you best by its paint and paneling.” ~ C S Lewis ~
“The opposite of talking isn’t listening. The opposite of talking is waiting.” ~ Fran Libowitz ~
“So wait before the Lord; wait in the stillness. And in that stillness, assurance will come to you. You will know that you are heard; you will know that your Lord ponders the voice of your humble desires; you will hear quiet words spoken to you yourself, perhaps to your grateful surprise and refreshment.” ~ Amy Carmichael ~
“We must be willing to let go of the life we have planned, so as to have the life that is waiting for us.” ~ E M Forster ~
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which also we eagerly wait for a Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ.” ~ Philippians 3:20 ~
Please remember in prayer ~ pastors, Sunday School teachers, church workers, missionaries and yourself ~
So many beautiful quotes! I’m bookmarking this post to return to when I need to remind myself to be patient and calm during the waiting. Thank you.
Sarita, sounds good to me but I would caution…don’t pray for patience. Just a tip…smile.
What a great title! It really says it all, even better than the quotes you provided. So much depth in those four words. I am not a good waiter. When I decide to do something I want to do it now and especially don’t like waiting for someone else to do something. I have to work on that.
🙂 gwingal
Nikki, thank you. It blew my tiny mind when God gave me those four words. I think it’s all right to be actively waiting, right? Oh else wait wouldn’t be a verb…smile.
C.S. Lewis is always such a blessing to me and you are too, Sandra. I don’t guess that I’ll ever love waiting even though I know I’ve grown through it so many times. And waiting when it’s waiting for a child to be okay is the most difficult of all. I admit that having to wait is not something I ever pray for but I am so thankful those prayers are heard and answered when it happens. I suppose the thing I have to fight the most is a tendency to wait for the other shoe to drop. I have to remind myself that those thoughts don’t come from God and to live with the joy that is present, with the promise that another waiting time will still bring God’s help again.
Dewena, you are SO kind, thank you! I think my main struggle isn’t waiting, it’s wasting…as in wasting time when I should be DOING. Right now, I’m almost paralyzed with fear over something that is long past due. I’ve pushed my deadline, time and time again, and am to the point it can’t be pushed any more. So, I’m honoring the Sabbath, tomorrow, and pray God will make my time and efforts come even on Monday.
As to waiting for the other shoe to drop…find 5 Bible verses you especially sense God speaking to you and, when you’re anxious, “think on these things”. He’ll never forsake; He holds you in the palm of His hand. He loves you.
I really love “Waiting is a verb”. So simple, yet so profound. I struggle to keep the Sabbath some weeks and every time I pay for it in the next week. When I am successful in keeping the Sabbath I feel so much more centered and focused the following week, when I don’t I feel like an unorganized mess. You would think I would learn taking the Sabbath to truly focus on God and work on my relationship with him instead of thinking whatever tasks I feel like I need to get done just can’t wait one more day.
Great quotes.
Michelle, when God gave me “waiting is a verb” I was dumbfounded! You’re right…so simple, so profound. I still struggle with the concept. It’s been a battle for me to keep the Sabbath; right now, I’m totally overwhelmed and think, “Oh, I could just stay home from church tomorrow and get a little caught up”. Then I think again. If we honor God, He’ll honor us so I’m trusting Him to make my work fit my time…on Monday. But I’ve gotta admit…I’m almost paralyzed with fear over getting things done on Monday. Prayers appreciated!
Waiting! Ugh, such a difficult thing to do! But God says we must, so I know it’s something He wants for each of us. It’s definitely something I’m not good at, and don’t think I will be this side of heaven, but He’s working on me. Oh, and I absolutely LOVE Charles Spurgeon! His writings are so incredible, easy to understand but so insightful.
Dawn, did you know Spurgeon suffered, tremendously, from depression? It was a battle he fought his entire life.
I didn’t know that, how interesting! And yet God used him in such a marvelous way. That’s very encouraging. We are all broken vessels, it just shows what God can accomplish with us if we let Him mend us the way He sees fit (or doesn’t, I guess, as in Spurgeon’s case). Clearly, though, God was able to use Spurgeon mightily in spite of (or because of) his depression.
and, as importantly, because Spurgeon said, “Thy will be done.”
What a great post about waiting! It goes along with the message series our pastor has been preaching about God’s promises and trusting Him.
Thank you dear Sandra and have a wonderful ‘spring’ week. Love, hugs & prayers ~ FlowerLady
Rainey, it’s spring, I think, although we’ll still have a stir of snow. A thought occurred to me (some time ago)…God’s promise IS Himself! That blows my little mind!
These are all so fitting right now for my son and his family. He could use prayer for a job that will work with his family’s situation. And I need prayer for patience with special needs kids and to stop being fearful about the outcome of all of this. Thanks for the quotes!
Lisa, yes to tucking you and yours into prayer. Let me know…
I’m reminded over and over not to murmur as the Israelites did because it’s very easy to murmur like the Israelites did. Waiting is hard but seems like a discipline we need to learn.
Hope your new week is good especially with the onset of Spring on Wednesday!
I mean Seriously! Ellen, I know what you mean. Seems like all they did was carp and complain but the good news is God forgave them, again and again and again. His mercies are new every morning!