Julia Melatis – Author

Sunday Word & Worship

While I’m Waiting – John Waller

13Still I am certain to see
the goodness of the LORD
in the land of the living.
14Wait patiently for the LORD;
be strong and courageous.
Wait patiently for the LORD!
Psalm 27:13-14 BSB

20Our soul waits for the LORD;
He is our help and our shield.
21For our hearts rejoice in Him,since we trust in His holy name.
22May Your loving devotion rest on us, O LORD, as we put our hope in You.
Psalm 33:20-22 BSB

5I wait for the LORD; my soul does wait,
and in His word I put my hope.
6My soul waits for the Lord
more than watchmen wait for the morning—
more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalm 130:5-6 BSB

Lately the Lord keeps leading me to verses about waiting.
Taking COVID and quarantine out of the picture for a moment, has God had you in a waiting season? Before this pandemic started I thought I was beginning to see a waiting season coming to an end. Instead, it confirmed I am still in a season of waiting. Waiting seasons can take much longer than we anticipate or desire. They will last as long as the Lord deems necessary and/or for us to fully cooperate and surrender to what He is working to accomplish in and/or through us.

24Be strong, and let your heart take courage, all you who wait for the LORD!
Psalm 31:24 ESV

What I find interesting in this verse, and some others as well, is some translate it “hope in the LORD!” I’d like to ponder this for a moment.
Waiting on the the Lord is not a passive thing. When we wait we ARE putting hope in God. Not hope as those of the world, who are merely making a wish for all to work out. But ours is a confident hope in the faithfulness, love, and goodness of Almighty God.
Going to the source bears this out. The Hebrew word translated above as wait is yachal (yaw-chal’), meaning to wait, await; by implication, to be patient, hope. So, waiting well requires faith and confident hope, which grows patience within us. This allows us to endure and persist through the waiting time and thrive, not just survive through it.

Many biblical figures had extended periods of waiting to prepare them for their ministries or purposes to be fulfilled, or for God’s perfect timing of events to take place.

If you read through Hebrews 11 it highlights the faithfulness of some significant saints in the Old Testament, many of whom never got to see the results of what they hoped for in their lifetime. Their faith, hope, and trust in God’s promises became their legacy to future generations, even us today.

As some of the passages above indicate, waiting does require us to be strong and courageous. And I know one of many verses that tells me how to find that, one of my life verses, “Have I not commanded you to be strong and courageous? Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the LORD your God is with you wherever you go” Joshua 1:9 BSB. The LORD our God has promised to be with us wherever we go; how can we be afraid or discouraged? God has proven His unfailing love, protection and provision in various ways, even if it seems like He has failed us at times by allowing some harm to befall us. It happens for a greater purpose and makes us all the stronger for it. Even Jesus had to suffer very much to make possible our redemption. There was no other way. If harm is allowed to come to us, it must be the best or only way to produce the results that are needed somewhere. It was so hard when something horrible happened to one of my children. Yet, as bad as it was, I saw God’s hand of protection over that child that though very bad, it was not worse and is still here and serving God 30 years later. It became one of many precious testmonies to be shared to help others that had a long, painful waiting and healing period between. The fires of pain God uses to shape and purify us, if we don’t let bitterness take root and let God have His way in the waiting time. Pain is just one of many reasons for a waiting room.

“Be still and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted over the earth.”
Psalm 46:10 BSB

Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.
Psalm 37:7 NLT

Whatever the reason, it will require much “be still and know” time. Faith, trust and patience.

Know (Be Still) – Jeremy Riddle

16We also know that the Son did not come to help angels; he came to help the descendants of Abraham. 17Therefore, it was necessary for him to be made in every respect like us, his brothers and sisters, so that he could be our merciful and faithful High Priest before God. Then he could offer a sacrifice that would take away the sins of the people. 18Since he himself has gone through suffering and testing, he is able to help us when we are being tested.
Hebrews 2:16-18 NLT

So, while we are waiting, even if there is sometimes suffering involved, we can know and be comforted by Jesus who endured so much Himself. He understands what we’re going through, because He’s been through it and He is able to help us through it also.

I Surrender – Hillsong

Walk by Faith – Jeremy Camp

Is there a particular testimony of a Biblical person (Abraham, Joseph, Moses, David…) or someone more current (Elizabeth Elliott, for example) that encourages you in your walk during times of waiting? Would you mind share who it is in the comments?

While I Wait – Lincoln Brewster

I pray that God, the source of hope, will fill you completely with joy and peace because you trust in him. Then you will overflow with confident hope through the power of the Holy Spirit.
Romans 15:13 NLT

“Let waiting be our work, as it is His. And, if His waiting is nothing but goodness and graciousness, let ours be nothing but a rejoicing in that goodness, and a confident expectancy of that grace. And, let every thought of waiting become to us the simple expression of unmingled and unutterable blessedness, because it brings us to a God who waits that He may make Himself known to us perfectly as the gracious One. My soul, wait thou only upon God!”
–Andrew Murray, Waiting on God

Blessings of Hope & Joy,
Julia

©2020 Julia Melatis, Hope & Joy Ministries
I pray you will share this to your timeline as an encouragement of Hope & Joy to others.

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