Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord. We will wait upon the Lord.
We will wait upon the Lord!
Well, here we are, 594 days later for {His side of the story} for the “waiting on the Lord – part two.” Since this blog post is about waiting, it is only fitting that I waited over a year and a half to compose this post, right?!
Waiting is tough. Waiting requires patience. Patience is a virtue. Patience is hard to practice, especially since we live in a fast paced, instant access world. Webster defines the verb (action) form of wait several different ways, which I have listed below.
“to remain stationary in readiness or expectation”
“to be ready and available”
“to look forward expectantly”
“to hold back expectantly”
One term that stood out to me in the definition was “expectantly” and “available”. Waiting requires us to be available as we expect a certain outcome. Of course, we all have certain outcomes that we “expect,” but I believe the key to waiting is prayerfully seeking and aligning our expectations with the Lord’s plan for the situation. This sounds easy, but it is incredibly difficult at times, given we are selfish creatures because of sin.
Although waiting and setting our hopes, dreams, and aspirations to God’s plan for our life is tough, it is always an extremely wonderful time to grow closer to the Lord.
“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” – Romans 12:12
The words: “joyful,” “hope,” “patient,” and “faithful” are all related to waiting and are defining terms of “ready,” “available,” and “expectantly.” It is interesting that many of these actions are Fruit of the Spirit. As we wait for directions or answers, we should use that time to prayerfully seek the Lord’s plan and give everything over to Him for His glory. Sounds easy, right?
As we wait, we lean on God, grow closer to Him, and He will answer. Although it sounds easy, it is not always easy. Sometimes, waiting on the Lord can be the hardest time in your life. We want answers on our time and according to our thoughts on the situation, but our timing and God’s timing are not always the same. The Bible clearly states that when we pray to the Lord, He hears us and will answer. Unfortunately, the answer is not always the answer we want to hear. The answer may be yes, no, or not yet. It may not be answered in His timing or the answer may even be to wait longer! This is hard. Trust me, I have had to wait for many answers in my life.
As Stephanie mentioned in her previous post, she had to go through a period of waiting in her life. It was hard. It was even heartbreaking at times, but the waiting drew her closer to the Lord and made her put Jesus and His will at the center of her life vice her own plans and expectations. I, too, have a similar experience.
I have wanted to own my own business(es) since elementary school. I remember designing, drafting, and dreaming of “Tootle” businesses throughout my childhood. In fact, I always chuckle at the time I told my Grandma that “I would have my own business and she would be my secretary.” The point is, I have always felt deep within me that the Lord was leading me to be an entrepreneur.
The Lord blessed me with the opportunity to obtain a Civil Engineering degree from Mississippi State University, which led to a great first job to start my career. However, I felt in my heart that I was not where I should have been and did not know where I should be. I waited. I prayed. I got frustrated. I got angry because of no clear answers, but God.
BUT GOD.
But God, in His infinite wisdom, opened doors. He opened doors that I could not have opened myself outside of His power. I will save the details for another post, but the point of the story is during those days, months, and YEARS of waiting, I learned to let go of myself and give everything over to the Lord. This allowed me to grow closer to the Lord through prayer and supplication. In the waiting, I gained strength through the Lord. Strength only HE can provide. There’s a song with lyrics I love and meditate on during seasons of waiting (lyrics sung by Chris Tomlin below).
“Strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
We will wait upon the Lord
Our God, You reign forever
Our hope, our strong deliverer
You are the everlasting God
The everlasting God
You do not faint
You won't grow weary
You're the defender of the weak
You comfort those in need
You lift us up on wings like eagles”
My story and Stephanie’s story are a couple of major moments in our adult life that we have had to wait on the Lord. Trust me, we still wait and will always have to wait because our life is not our own, but solely for God and His glory. It takes effort to remember that it is not about Kyle Tootle’s plans, but it is about God’s plans for Kyle Tootle which (if followed according to God’s direction), will bring Jesus the glory He alone deserves!
Friends, WAIT ON THE LORD. I pray the verse below gives you encouragement as you WAIT ON THE LORD!
“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight.” – Proverbs 3:5-6
Feel free to share how you have waited or are currently waiting on the Lord!!
-Kyle