When my oldest was three, we went through this phase where the "book choice of the night" was Dr. Suess', Oh, the Places You'll Go! We read it over and over and o~v~e~r! This week as I was praying, this came back to me.

things are going along just as YOU planned, when suddenly you find yourself in the "waiting place."

"you can get so confused
that you'll start in to race
down long wiggled roads at a break-necking pace
and grind on for miles across weirdish wild space,
headed, I fear, toward a most useless place.....
the waiting place...
for people just waiting.
waiting for a train to go
or a bus to come, or a plane to go
or the mail to come, or the rain to go
or the phone to ring, or the snow to snow
or waiting around for a yes or a no.....everyone is just waiting....
NO! that's not for YOU!"

(I was tempted to post this in rhyme, but I refrained)

Have you ever felt as if you are in the "waiting place?" Waiting for an answer from God?
The nonsense of Dr. Suess' words have a deeper meaning for us. Oh yes, we will as Christians have to wait, just like the rest of the world, but we can have peace in the "waiting place." Our waiting is NEVER in vain, if it is GOD who had brought us there. We can have the peace that GOD is in control, He's checked us into the room and ALWAYS for good reason.

"Blessed are those who wait for Him." Isaiah 30:18

Waiting....at first glance it seems so passive, but if we truly look inward and to our God, our time in the "waiting place" can be a time of tremendous activity. It can be a time for us to grow in faith and trust. Our time in the waiting place CAN, if we choose, bring us to a NEW place in Christ. It's been in that God anointed "waiting place" that my greatest life lessons have emerged. Waiting WITH the Lord often is an experience of a lifetime. I have to admit that I have gone into the "waiting place" kicking and screaming, only to emerge humbled and healed. I still occasionally kick and scream when I'm in the "waiting place," but I'm learning.

I read recently a quote by Frances de Sales, that just resonates in my soul.

"Sometimes the Lord desires that our souls be nourished by a firm and unfailing resolution to persevere in serving Him in the spiritual life amid hardships, dryness..... This is YOUR will; how ardently I desire it!"

His will, how ardently I desire it!
Now that is a real, 'bring it on God, I'm trusting YOU and ONLY YOU statement!'
It wasn't easy for the people of Israel to wait, 40 years is a L~O~N~G time....they had their moments, as do we, where we want desperately to move from waiting....into answers. We often don't understand why we need to wait, and that is not always for us to know. If we are truly His, then we must have faith that He has His reasons, and that it is ALWAYS for our good. Trusting is not always easy, however, if we want to TRULY be at peace and in God's will, it's what we HAVE to do while we find ourselves in that "waiting place." It was in waiting that the Israelites discovered who they were. We will too, you see...
God hasn't changed, and that is a beautiful thing!

We are all waiting, for eternity...and the God who loves us more than we could EVER comprehend sometimes has to take us by the hand and gently lead us to the
'waiting place.' It's for our own good....He brings us there so that we can turn to Him and trust, we can cry out, we can be healed. Trusting, turning, clinging; definitely not passive, and sometimes the waiting place is exactly where He needs us to be.

As life finds me in the "waiting place" I'll cling to the disciples words,

"I am the vine and you are my branches, you abide in me my word abides in you; you shall bear much fruit, without me you can do nothing." John 15:5

and I'll willingly and faithfully, wait....in peace, with a heart full of trust.


Father,
Thank you for always knowing when I need to wait....
Sometimes I feel like the Israelites in the desert, waiting for answers. Help me Father to have the faith of Moses, knowing that my time spent waiting is ordained by You. Help me to grow in my waiting, trusting you each and everyday. Knowing that one day, the waiting will be over and I will see your face. Help me to find patient trust in you, as I wait for your answers in my life.
You know my heart, and you know far better than me what I need. It's only with your grace that I can grow in my waiting.
In Jesus' name,
amen.

In Him,

I can usually be found over here at my personal blog spot,
I'd love for you to stop by.