A Magnolia's Heart Beats

This week's In Other Words Tuesday is hosted by Debbie of Chocolate and Coffee.

By perseverance the snail reached the ark.

~ Charles Spurgeon~

Psalm 5:3 - "In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation."

Psalm 27:14 - "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD."

Psalm 33:20 - "We wait in hope for the LORD; he is our help and our shield."

Psalm 37:7 - "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes."

Psalm 37:34 - "Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it."

Psalm 38:15 - "I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God."

Psalm 130:5 - "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope."

That's my kind of waiting! I long to wait for the Lord per-fec-tly in prayer. Wait. Perfectly? Let me go back and re-read!

Perfectly? No. In expectation, with courage, strength, hope, and assurance, yes.

God's Word is timeless. It is as relevant yesterday as it is today and will be tomorrow. The Psalmist knew a thing or three about waiting. He spent time waiting to be king, time waiting to be delivered, time waiting for the Lord to come to his rescue from the miry pit, time waiting to have his feet set back on terra firma.

I have waited on everything from a book to arrive to biopsy results, babies to be born to watching for my husband's best friend to take his last breath.

Tapping my foot, wringing my hands, watching the clock, trying to live this way and that (if I'm a better person, He'll hurry up!)....In all the things I've waited on and waited for, especially in prayer, I have found a word in Charles Spurgeon's quote to be key - "perseverance."

One of the definitions of perseverance is "Steady persistence in adhering to a course of action, a belief, or a purpose; steadfastness." - American Heritage Dictionary.

Putting my hope in His Word, His promises, and His perfect timing, I have learned to be steadfast, adhering to God's Word. There are instructions and guidance through the Psalmist's wisdom on waiting. Through reading them and meditating on the Scripture, I have gone from being a toe-tapping waiter to being able to remain relatively calm while waiting on Him. Probably because once I had to wait 8 LONG years for an answer to prayer. And when I got the answer, it wasn't the answer I wanted, but accepted nonetheless. (What else do you do when God says, "No?" You don't argue with God, do ya?)

Waiting...

In expectation

Being strong and taking heart

Knowing He is our help and our shield

Be still before the Lord

Waiting patiently for Him

Waiting for the LORD and keeping His way

Knowing the Lord his God would answer
And putting his hope in His Word.

His Word never fails us. He never fails us. Being still before Him, humbling ourselves and admitting that there are things beyond our control that only He can do are vital keys to waiting. After all, God promises us this:

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." Isaiah 40:31

Heart to Heart - What is your favorite Scripture on waiting? What is your normal attitude in waiting? How has it changed in the last few years?

Heart Reflections: Think back to a time in your life that you knew God's timing was perfect and cling to that time the next time you find yourself waiting.