Waiting with Expectancy
In life it seems we’re always waiting for something. Waiting in the checkout line, waiting for the traffic light to turn green, waiting for our children to be ready for school, waiting for a dream to come to fruition…and in our case, waiting for God to answer our need for a parish priest who will love and shepherd us.
There is a right way to wait and a wrong way to wait.
Isaiah 40:31 says,
“Yet those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”
We hear that word “wait” and we think it means to do nothing, to be passive.
Waiting is not supposed to be passive. True waiting is actively expecting.
Psalm 5:3 “Each morning I bring my request to you and wait expectantly.”
When you are waiting expectantly, there’s anticipation in your spirit. You talk and act like it will happen. That expectancy is your faith being lived out.
So are you bringing your request for a parish priest who will love and shepherd us to God each morning? Or do you hear yourself saying, “Things will never change.” That's the wrong way to wait. If you’re not expecting the problem to turn around, it will not only limit what God can do, it will cause your heart to be sick. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick.” Proverbs 13:12. One reason people don’t have the joy that they should have is because they are not living in expectancy. Say instead, ‘God I know you’re still on the throne and you can help me through this difficulty. What you promised, will come to pass.’
Because it doesn’t happen according to your timetable, don’t believe the “never” lies that say things like, “Things will never change; we'll never get a priest.” God is a faithful God and He will bring it to pass in His timing. Waiting expectantly makes you confident. … for with God all things are possible. Mark 10:27
King David’s life was often full of difficulties, but he trusted in God to bring him through them. He wrote in Psalm 27:13 “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.” He was confident.
Let's be like King David. Let's trust in God--and expect Him to bring us through this time of waiting--triumphantly!
