Waiting is part of life. Nobody is immune to it. None of us like to wait, especially in our techie, microwavable, “just ask Google” society. But wait, we must. Through my years of waiting I’ve found worship helps me wait with greater peace.
I experienced this one day during a four hour lay-over in an airport. That’s a long wait.
As I sat at my gate waiting, I watched families and couples, groups of friends, and solo travelers come and go. One minute the seats around me were filled and the next they were quickly emptied until the next wave of excited travelers came. There I sat with other sojourners, many of us weary, waiting for our turn.
All we could do was wait.
We usually don’t like it. But sometimes it is a blessing in disguise.
Blessings Found When You Wait
That day, with worship music streaming in my ears, I wrote a blog post I didn’t have time to craft before my trip. That was great! I love when God does that. At times waiting is easy. Sometimes we have a lot to accomplish to fill our time, but in other circumstances, the waiting is painful especially when we’re waiting on God to intervene in a difficult situation.
Whether busy and filled in the waiting or longing and empty, there is one thing that can give us peace and help us glean the good in the process. That one thing is worship.
A 400 Year Wait
The people of God waited 400 years for him to show up. God’s voice wasn’t heard for four centuries. Generations lived their lives in that silence holding onto the promises of prophecy. None of us have waited that long. But for 400 years the people of God waited to hear God’s voice again. And then He showed up. The voice of a newborn baby pierced the dark. God not only spoke. He had come. But it wasn’t what they expected.
Their lack of understanding makes me wonder how many times God has shown up in my life, but I didn’t notice.
However, the people who didn’t miss Jesus were the ones looking for Him, the ones hungry to worship God.
Scripture promises in Jeremiah 29:13, “Seek me with your whole heart. I will be found by you,” says the Lord. Seeking God is a Hebrew saying that means to worship him. So, God promises that when we worship him, we will find him.
Nothing can change the landscape of our hearts and give us joy in the waiting like intentional worship of the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, the Master of the Universe (I taught about “Master of the Universe” a few years ago.)
If you find yourself in the waiting room of life, the verses will help you worship while you wait. They might not make the time go faster, but they will position your heart to receive what God has for you in the waiting.
3 Scriptures to Help You Worship During the Wait
- Zephaniah 3: 17: “The Lord your God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you he will quiet you with his love; he will rejoice over you with singing.”
(Word Study)
- The word “quiet” has been translated from Charash (Khaw-rash’) which can mean to scratch, or engrave.
- The word “singing” is Rinnah (Rin-naw’) contains the definitions of creaking, singing or shouting in joy or grief.
If we use these definitions, Zephaniah 3:17 could read, The Lord God is with you, the Mighty Warrior who saves. He will take great delight in you; his love marks you, and he will cry with great joy over you.
This, my friends is worthy of praise and worship! The Father waits with us. Sometimes He waits for us to turn around and come home. Zephaniah 3:17 read in this new perspective reminds me of the Parable of the Lost Son. What a wonderful celebration that was when the son made it home. We think of our own wait for things we desperately want, but the Father is waiting too.
- Isaiah 12: 2-3: “Surely God is my salvation I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense, he has become my salvation.” With joy you will draw water from the wells of salvation.
Waiting involves trusting God’s goodness, faithfulness, and provision. Ask yourself: Where do I find my strength? What is my defense? When God is our strength and our defense we don’t have to be strong. This passage also promises joy in the waiting and trusting. Sometimes we have to go back to the basics. Go back to thankfulness for Jesus and grace. We have to take our eyes off our holes and place them on His fullness as we wait.
- Philippians 4:4-5: Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.
Intentional worship. Whenever you get stressed, pray with your inside voice and outside, “Lord, I praise you. I love you. I worship you.” Let this be your mantra all day. This helps me the most when things are hard. It brings me strength and peace and actually, thankfulness for the challenge that is forcing me to go into worship mode.
The Promise of Waiting on God
Has anyone ever told you to be patient?
A few years ago a dear friend told me that as she had prayed for me, she heard the words “be patient.” Normally, that would’ve upset me, but when she told me, Holy Spirit placed those words in my heart as a promise. It was a kiss and a promise for me because whenever I’ve told my children to be patient, what they were waiting for was on the other end. It was only a matter of time.
Think of all the biblical heroes who waited on God. Abraham is the first to come to mind. He had a looooong wait waiting on he fulfillment of the promise of God. So did Noah, David, Paul, and even the Samaritan woman who was waiting for Messiah.
She found Him.
What are you waiting on?
Worship while you wait. It’ll make the time go faster and position your heart to receive it when it comes. God doesn’t waste anything.
What’s your favorite scripture when you’re waiting on God? Leave a comment and please share this article if you know someone waiting on something important in their life.
Other articles on waiting:
Patience is not my middle name, Andy. Thanks for the reminder.