Written by Rebecca Shirey
As for me, I watch in hope for the LORD, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7
A few years ago, my husband, Lou, dreamed about waiting. We were in a prolonged season of delay, wondering when it would end. Each day we sought direction from God, but His instruction stayed the same—wait. We were nearing frustration when God gave Lou the dream.
It took place in an airport, unusual by post 9/11 standards. To get to departure gates, passengers walked through open-air atriums, set with rows of benches. As Lou entered one atrium, he noticed the right side was warmed by the sun. The other side was darkened by the shadow of a building.
Only one person sat on the benches. He was a lone man resting on the sunny side with suitcases stacked around his feet. Lou noticed his pleasant, peaceful expression, and then recognized the man. Lou walked over, bent down and said, “Leon, this is Lou.” Then he awoke. Immediately, Lou sensed God showing him a picture of how we should wait— with contentment, joy, and peace but with bags packed and ready to move forward at any moment.
When Lou shared his dream with me, I was struck by the awareness that the man in his dream was the only blind man we know—a man who couldn’t see what was ahead but rested secure and trusting in the destination.
IPHC Women’s Ministries is in a waiting season, awaiting the appointment of a new director. You might be in a personal season of waiting, for God to answer a prayer or to fulfill a dream. As we wait on God to move, consider these three principles of waiting well.
Don’t Rush the Wait
The biblical word for wait is not like the foot tapping impatience we experience when we discover we’re, once again, in the slowest line at the grocery store. The definition in scripture connotes not passivity but alertness. It’s a conscious pursuit. It’s active. It’s anticipating. It’s maturing.
Sue Kidd describes waiting as a “still journey.” The still journey does not halt our progress. Instead, it quickens our pace in God’s direction. After all, what God is ultimately after is us.
God will use any circumstance in our lives to give us opportunities to journey inward, to give us time to recognize and embrace His purpose for our lives, and to give Him time to change us from the inside out.
Waiting shifts our focus from an outcome to Him. The closer we get to God, the more we realize He is not in a hurry. The closer we get to God, the more we are willing to be still and wait for as long it takes.
Don’t Fear Unchartered Territory
While you wait, pray for courage to move into unchartered territory. God doesn’t require a season of waiting only to leave us where we were before. Waiting ushers in change.
God wants to move in your life and in Women’s Ministries, in new ways. The person or ministry we are today cannot hold the increase God has planned. Increase requires a new container. One that is flexible, changeable, and pliable (Matthew 9:17). Keep in mind, His methods might not resemble His work in others or how He has moved previously.
Embrace the change He brings. The hardest thing we might be called on to do, is not to do what we’ve always done.
While God is working in this waiting season, ask God for a greater understanding of His love for you and an increased measure of your love for Him. God’s perfect love drives out fear (I John 4:18). Cast aside fear so you can go where you’ve never been before.
Don’t Neglect Prayer
God sets the priority of prayer in Psalm 2:8 when He says to His Son, “Ask of Me.” Be bold in your asking. God has immeasurably more purpose for your life and for IPHC Women’s Ministries.
Ask God to ready your heart for His next move. Pray for greater degrees of intimacy with Him. Ask Him for enlarged territory and multiplied influence for His glory. Pray for God to work His will in your life and in the life of the woman He calls to lead.
The psalmist made this declaration in prayer: “The Lord will fulfill his purpose for me” (Psalm 138:8). Paul wrote a similar declaration in his letter to the Philippians: “He who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion” (1:6).
God has a plan to insure a progressive maturity in your life and to accomplish an intended purpose through your days. He will sometimes call you to wait, but the wait will result in His highest possible good for you and for the women you lead.
