Invisible drum kit

Turning a cliché into a long wait

Have you ever heard something so many times that it doesn’t make sense any more? Clichés sometimes seem to rob things of their meaning, making powerful things impotent.

Last week I was wittering on to someone about how important it was to “Wait on God”. “It’s all over the bible,” I think I said, “so it must be important”. The person graciously listened to me and then asked me how to “wait on God”, and I suddenly realised that all I could come up with was generalisations and vague waffle. I was a walking, talking, hypocritical cliché!

So I’ve spent the last few days digging around, trying to start learning what God means when asks us to “wait” on Him. I’m sure that this is the start of the journey rather than the end, so if this feels incomplete to you, then my apologies are given!

The Hebrew word we’re interested in is qavah which means "'to wait hopefully' or 'to look eagerly' for something" (Strongs). I guess it might be a bit like the way Apple fans waited for the iPhone; camping in the street to ensure they got a phone.

Qavah is the word we find in the well used passage from Isaiah:

“...but those who qavah for the Lord will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31)

Some of the Psalmists anchor their songs on the idea of waiting for God – Psalm 27, which is about looking to God for help when everything seems to be going wrong, ends with the verses:

“I am still confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the Lord

In the land of the living.

Wait for the Lord;

Be strong and take heart

And wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:13-14)

There have been times in the past when I’ve been waiting on God, expecting and hoping for Him to move in situations. I guess my waiting during those times very much depended on the situation – sometimes things are so tough that hoping on God seems too hard. Sometimes, in the middle of tough situations, it hasn’t even occurred to me to ask, hope or expect God to do anything.

Looking back, I can see resolved situations that I’ve prayed about, which have encouraged me to hope and expect more from Him. I guess it’s easy to say that God can do anything, but much harder to believe it! Jesus called the Holy Spirit “Teacher”, and I can certainly see me learning more about what God’s like through the last few years – I can also see that I’m a slow learner!!

I like the way that Eugene Peterson (The Message) translates the ending of Psalm 27:

“I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness

In the exuberant earth.

Stay with God!

Take heart. Don’t quit.

I’ll say it again:Stay with God.” (Psalm 27:13-14 The Message)

It manages to capture, for me, the mixture of persevering in hope and also remembering the past, which we sometimes need in order to “wait hopefully” and “look eagerly” for God to bring His goodness to bad situations.

I guess that if we’re really serious about wanting to see His freedom, justice, and healing in situations then sometimes God calls us to be sacrificially passionate with our waiting like those Apple fans camping on the streets of New York.

None of the stuff here is ground breaking - sorry if you were after a difinitive answer! Your thoughts and comments are very welcome!!

Guitar Hero Roadies