Are you tired of waiting? What does it mean to wait?
As singles, we are used to being on the go. We try to prove our worth and relevance by keeping up with our timelines and beating the deadlines, so much so that the word PAUSE or WAIT is something that is foreign to us.
This quarantine has indeed caught us by surprise. Now, we can't do anything but wait. Wait for this pandemic to pass, wait for the lockdown to lift, wait to get back to our jobs, to reunite with friends and loved ones, we are all waiting to go back to our normal lives. Now that the quarantine has extended, the waiting game seemed to have stepped up to a whole new level of desperation and uncertainty. In these trying times, what do we do? How do we make sense of all this pausing and waiting?
Let's try to ponder on being still for a moment. Being still doesn't mean being lazy. In fact, there is so much effort in this that asking for God's help is integral. Only by His strength and His power would we be able to go through this time of waiting unscathed. Maybe this is the time to learn to fully depend on Him.
Now that we have a lot of time in our hands, let us pause and reflect on the following:
Be still and know who your god is at the moment
Test yourself. What is it that takes up most of your time? What or who is it that when you lose, you will feel depressed and devastated? Ask the Lord to reveal to you your idols. Confess to God and claim His forgiveness.
"Do not worship any other god, for the Lord , whose name is Jealous, is a jealous God." (Exodus 34:14 NIV)
Be still and know who God is to you
Search your heart. How intimate are you with the Lord? Is He the very first thing that comes in your mind when you wake up in the morning? Is He the one you'd rather talk with at night before you sleep? Or are distractions more appealing to you? How does your relationship and time with God factors in on your daily routine? Surrender every little thing that distracts you from your focus on God.
"Search me, God, and know my heart; test me and know my anxious thoughts. See if there is any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting." (Psalms 139:23-24 NIV)
Be still and know who God really is
Seek God. Read His word. Learn His character. When was the last time you took the time to study His word deeply?
Look back on those times in the Bible when God has shown his character. The number of times He provided for the Israelites in the time of Moses. His sovereignty in the life of Joseph. The way He kept His promise to Abraham through Isaac and Jacob.
"He says, “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.” The Lord Almighty is with us; the God of Jacob is our fortress." (Psalms 46:10-11 NIV)
The true test of your character during this time is not really how long you have waited for things. But it is in the attitude of waiting, your dependency and your surrender to the Lord who knows everything that will pass and how you have patiently but actively waited for His will and His purpose to unfold.
Why do you think there is a stoplight in every intersection? It is to allow us to stop and consider which way we ought to go. Imagine driving through all the green lights, we'll speed up for sure without even thinking if we're going the right way or stopping to check if we're going to hit other cars. Maybe it's time for us to reconsider our priorities and sit through a red light. That way we'll be able to see if God is leading us straight to our destination, or offering a much safer detour.