In the Desert of Waiting

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Date: March 28, 2023

But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7 ESV

 

Are you waiting for something? Waiting to meet someone to marry, waiting for test results, or waiting for someone to come home?

 

God is concerned with your desire for a life-partner, for good health and for estranged relationships to be made whole. But He’s even more concerned that we come to know, live in and reflect His love, peace and mercy in this life.

 

Henri Nouwen said, “For many people, waiting is an awful desert between where they are and where they want to go.”[1] If it does feel like a desert to you, be encouraged: that there’s a lot of beauty and even powerful growth, in a desert.

 

One of two things happen in us while we wait: we either become consumed by our desire, obsessed with what we think we lack, or we press into the One on Whom we wait. The writer of the Bible book of Micah declared, “But as for me, I will look to the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation.” Then he makes a bold confession of faith, saying: “my God will hear me” (Micah 7:7 ESV).

 

God longs for us to look to Him in times of waiting because, as unbelievable as it sounds, He wants to draw close to us! He wants to give us Himself even more than He wants to explain our current circumstance or make the discomfort of waiting go away by simply giving us what we’re waiting for.

 

Let’s pray Psalm 33:22 together while we wait: “Let your unfailing love surround us, Lord, for our hope is in you alone” (Psalm 33:22).

 

[1] Nouwen, Henri. “A Spirituality of Waiting – Columbia International University.” A , https://www.ciu.edu/sites/default/files/Article/2010/10/A%20Spirituality%20of%20Waiting/article25_henrinouwen_pdf_18629.pdf.