WAITING WITH INTENTION

​​Challenge:

How do we wait with intention?

There are not many things that are constant in life but waiting is one of them. We will always be waiting in some form whether in line at the grocery store, in traffic, at the doctor’s office, or at a restaurant. Waiting is a natural part of our everyday life.

So how can we live with intention during a life season of waiting? A season of waiting is much different from everyday lifestyle waiting. A season of waiting applies to those times when big decisions are involved. A new job, a promotion, a child’s college application acceptance, a weight loss plan, medical diagnosis, buying a house, marital difficulties or financial burdens.

Inspiration:

We have learned this month with our monthly theme of Living with Intention that there is a big difference between living intentionally and living functionally.

One analogy is that living functionally is like playing pinball. The ball is all over the place. You try your best to keep the ball rolling without it getting past the flipper. It is extremely difficult to maintain control of the ball especially when the ball is rolling so fast.

The analogy for living with intention is like playing pool. After the initial break, you are only focused on one ball and use skill and strategy to get the ball where you want it to go. The game is played at a much slower pace than pinball. Pool is won with intentional focus.

While in a season of waiting, we must be focused, patient, and strategic.
Waiting brings strength. Waiting builds character. Waiting creates endurance.

For all 3 of my pregnancies, my husband and I decided not to find out the gender of each child. We wanted that amazing surprise moment of finding out at the birth.

Our decision confused a lot of people. They couldn’t understand why we would choose to wait when we could easily find out ahead of time. Everyone said we could plan and prepare so much better if we knew the gender before the birth.

Never being one to follow the crowd, I happily waited for 9 months to get the best surprise of my life. Those precious moments of finding out the gender after giving birth are memories I will always treasure. It was worth the wait every single time.

Waiting will be what we make it. We can make it miserable or we can make it beneficial.  Waiting with intention means a new mindset. It means a commitment to allowing God to work on your behalf while you prepare for the outcome.​

God’s Truth:

All through the Bible, God has required waiting. This isn’t to make our lives miserable but to increase our trust in Him. He wants us to trust His plan and His timing completely. Even more, He doesn’t wants us to bring deliberate sin into our lives by creating shortcuts and making our own way.

Psalm 27:14, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

Your Truth:

Waiting is HARD especially when we feel like our life is in turmoil. We often want God to move faster on our behalf. How does your view of waiting compare to God’s view of waiting?

What we view as the last second, God views as His perfect timing. God is never in a hurry like we are. Remember, He knows the future and sees all the other factors that are involved in our time of waiting. We have to trust His plan.

Action Plan for Waiting with Intention:

Take inspiration from Bible characters who had to wait on God:

• Abraham and Sarah waiting on a child
• Joshua waiting to inherit the promised land
• David waiting for his kingship
• Jesus waiting for His eternal kingdom

Adopt the intentional waiting mindset which involves committing to yourself and God that you will wait on Him and not move forward in a shortcut.

A great way to wait with intention is to journal your thoughts. Take time to write out your thoughts on this time. Remember that waiting builds strong faith muscles! Listen to inspiring music. Three of my favorite ‘waiting’ songs are:“I Don’t Want To Go” by Avalon “Without You” by Jeremy Camp “Fix My Eyes” by For King and Country

Focus on others. As you wait on God, honor Him by serving others. In her book “If you find this letter,” Hannah Brencher tells her story of how she chose to fight off feelings of disconnectedness. She began picking strangers out on her commute and writing notes for them. Eventually, she began leaving the letters in doctor’s offices, coat pockets, library books and coffee shops for people to find. Her endeavors took on a life of their own and she promised to write a letter to anyone who requested one on her website. What a way to make a difference in her community as she was striving for more connections with others!