But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. -Isaiah 40:31

In the introduction of this topic we saw that the definition of waiting, doesn’t mean that we’re simply standing around inactively or without reason. Instead there should always be a purpose and a readiness in our spirits in everything we say and do. We should be in expectation and completely available to God for the manifestation of His will in our lives.

So, one question is what do we do while waiting? We know that in part, to wait means to be available. Available to listen for that still small voice of God, to perceive those gentle nudges from the Lord and really understand what He is trying to convey to us. Most often, when I find myself waiting and feeling like everything is at an absolute stand still, I would realize that God was telling me to examine myself more closely; to take a real close look in the mirror, because there were and still are things in me that needs refining. I realized before I could take another step I needed to be refined or pruned to make sure I represented Him to the best of my ability and to be able to truly appreciate the transition of where I’m coming from to where I’m going to.

I must say that getting to this level of understanding was not easy. When those moments of frustrations would dropkick me in the face I would forget about checking or examining myself. I would cry, complain and even attempt to give God the silent treatment, thinking I was getting his attention or proving a point. Of course, none of those things worked. However, being caught up in the moment it was the only thing I could think of to do and in turn I would find myself in what I call a “spiritual holding cell”. This is a place of resentment and anger. I was confused and couldn’t understand “why would God treat me this way? If I’m his child and I’m doing my best why would he block me or hold up my blessing?” God was simply telling me it’s time to elevate your mind. It’s time to increase your faith in me. It’s time to shed that old skin, and flex your spiritual muscles. I was becoming complacent and comfortable and once I got comfortable it was hard for me to move forward. We as humans love comfort whether it’s from people, places or things we love to be comfortable and we very rarely want to compromise, trade or leave our comfort zone.

After I was done with my temper tantrum and repented of things I’ve said and done out of anger and utter frustration I would think to myself, “how can God trust me with something greater when I can’t even take a simple command to wait?” So, I’m learning to wait and trust God in the process. To have faith that he knows exactly what he’s doing, and in His timing the promises and blessings will be released.

wait: act as a waiter or waitress, serving food and drink.

While we are making ourselves available to God for refinement, we are also making ourselves available to serve. There’s a tremendous blessing in being an available and willing servant of God; to give up your agenda for his. If you take the scripture Isaiah 40:31 (posted above) and change the word from ‘wait’ to ‘serve’ so it reads “But they that serve the Lord shall renew their strength…”. Or if you read the following scripture as, “Serve the Lord and keep his way…”, it gives you a new understanding of how to govern your life. Being a servant of God brings to you a renewal of strength. It causes you to rise and soar far above the menial issues of this world and best of all it comes with the promise of an inheritance that only God can fulfill.