** Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD. ** Psalm 27:14
What should we do when we get stuck?
What do we do when we just have no clue how to move forward?
Wait.
Don’t panic. Don’t worry. Don’t do.
Just wait. Wait on the Lord.
Waiting on the Lord is not a completely stagnant activity though. When we say we are waiting on the Lord, we mean that we are most importantly having a serious, ongoing conversation with Him. We are laying out our situation in front of Him like King Hezekiah laid out the letter of discouragement and threat that he received from Sennacherib. Hezekiah was looking for answers. Big powerful answers. And he got them.
When we are in a tough spot, or we don’t know how to move forward, we can do the same thing. We can have a long talk with the Lord, detailing every aspect of the problem. We can confess our fear, worry, confusion, or our lack of faith, if any of those are an issue for us.
It also helps to talk the problem out, out loud. When our children were in school and they were stuck on a Math or Science problem (I am not brilliant in either of those subjects) I would just tell them to explain it to me out loud. Step by step. A minute or two later, they had the answer. I never said a word. But explaining it out loud opened up the answer for them.
Prayer is talking out loud with the Lord. We can tell Him every aspect of our situation, step by step with all the issues that go with it. Sometimes, like my kids Math problems, the answer will come right away. And depending on the problem, it may not come all at once. We might just get enough of an answer to deal with today.
The second part of ‘waiting’ on the LORD is expectation. It is faith in action. Hezekiah went to the Lord with his problem expecting the Lord to answer. He needed help, and He knew there was only one place to get it. We need to lay things out for the Lord with great expectation that He has the solution. But if our faith is lagging a bit. It’s okay. The Lord cannot deny himself. He will still be God and He will still give us a solution.
Patience is another part of ‘waiting’. Everything the Lord does, He does with perfection. Perfection takes time. Perfection takes details. There are a lot of pieces to bring together. Patience is key.
Even before our children left the ‘nest’, I asked the Lord to show me what He would have me to do with the next season of my life. I had no idea how I was going to fill my time. Clearly, I could do more for and with my husband, but not 24 hours a day. I asked the Lord to show me what to do with all the extra hours. And He did. Bit by bit, over time. A few years actually. He didn’t show me all at once.
Wait on the Lord.
Stop
Pray
Expect
Be patient
Four things we need to do to move forward.
It’s a New Year. With 12 months of things to do. The Number #1 thing we should do? Wait. Wait for clear direction. Wait for open doors. Wait for the Lord to do His thing. Wait, anticipating the best answer from Him.
It is hard to wait. But waiting is what we need to do.
Wait. In prayer.