How do we continually wait on God?

That’s what I have been wondering a lot lately.  In this world of technology and constant distractions- more information than I could ever read and more entertainment than I could ever watch…

How do we intentionally seek God throughout the day?

What does the posture of waiting look like?

Andrew Murray’s devotional- Waiting on God- provides 30 days of concise and insightful posts about waiting- all based on Scripture passages. Here’s some excerpts from Day 30.

Hosea 12:6-So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God (ESV).

This continual waiting is indeed a necessity. To those who are content with a feeble Christian life, it appears to be a luxury beyond what is essential to be a good Christian. But, all who are praying the prayer, “Lord, make me as holy as a pardoned sinner can be made! Fill me as full of your love as You are willing to do!” feel at once that it is something that must be had. They feel that there can be no unbroken fellowship with God, no full abiding in Christ, no maintaining victory over sin and readiness for service, without waiting continually on the Lord.

So it seems that Andrew Murray considered waiting continually the mark of a mature Christian- one who longs to be changed by God and bear fruit in service for Him.

But how do we begin this process?

When you first begin waiting on God, it is with frequent intermission and failure. But, do believe God is watching over you in love and secretly strengthening you in it. There are times when waiting appears like just losing time, but it is not so. Waiting, even in darkness, is unconscious advance, because it is God you have to do with, and He is working in you. God, who calls you to waiting on Him, sees your feeble efforts and works it in you. Your spiritual life is in no respect your own work; as little as you begin it, can you continue it. It is God’s Spirit who has begun the work in you of waiting upon God. He will enable you to wait continually.

Once again I am struck by a simple yet pervasive message of the Christian faith.

Surrender.

Humility.

We are at our strongest when we have completely emptied ourselves.  When we are wholeheartedly seeking God.

As we seek to love him with our whole heart, soul, mind, and strength.

So simple and yet so hard to do.

When everything in our culture says it’s all about me.

And God keeps whispering- no, it’s all about me.  I created you, I redeemed you, you are mine.

To wait on God brings great rewards, those measured by eternity- not human standards.

The challenge for me lies in staying power.  For I know there will be days when I get discouraged, when I know I am not waiting like I should be.  The temptation is to give up when things get tough- esp. if we are not able to see any progress.

That’s where faith comes in.

Trust in our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.

If we believe in the power of His love and the sacrifices He has already made on our behalf- will He not also be faithful in this if we seek Him with our whole heart?

Oh Lord, you know how awkward and uncertain we are about waiting- and seeking silence.  These things are foreign and strange, and we tend to run from the uncomfortable. We use busyness as a shield to protect us from thinking too much, from doubting all the things we fill our lives with.  Merciful God, slow us down. May we seek You and learn to live in your presence day by day- to look for you everywhere and in everything.  Transform us through the power of your Holy Spirit working in us.  We are yours.  In Jesus Name we pray, Amen.