Friday, October 30, 2009

the slow drip of waiting

the storm

In this day and age, most of us have either known someone or been in this spot ourselves... waiting for biopsy results. And it's a rotten place to be. According to THIS STUDY published in March, waiting can be just as stressful as receiving a poor diagnosis.

How about the stress of a pending layoff? Or waiting to hear from a loved one serving overseas? What about someone in the midst of the adoption process, waiting for months to be united with their child? Torture. Pure torture.

Waiting requires a great deal of patience - easy to say, not so easy to display. Here's what Dictionary.com has to say about it:
Patience, endurance, fortitude, and stoicism imply qualities of calmness, stability, and persistent courage in trying circumstances. Patience may denote calm, self-possessed, and unrepining bearing of pain, misfortune, annoyance, or delay; or painstaking and untiring industry or (less often) application in the doing of something: to bear afflictions with patience.
It also describes patience as the quality of being patient, as the bearing of provocation, annoyance, misfortune, or pain, without complaint, loss of temper, irritation, or the like.

I don't know about you, but patience goes against my very nature. Without God to lean on, I would fall very short in trying circumstances - letting worry, doubt, and fear consume me. Instead, His Word must become my anchor in the storm:

I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me. Micah 7:7

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1

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

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

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you, Lord. Isaiah 26:3

We rejoice in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. Romans 5:2-4

The Lord is my light and my salvation - whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life - of whom shall I be afraid?... For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his tabernacle and set me high upon a rock... I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27: 1, 5, 13-14
Just waiting for this storm to pass.

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10 comments:

KAPeterson said...

Praying for you and your family Tina. Let me know if I can do anything.

theheartofachild said...

Praying for you as well....let the peace of the Lord fill your heart and flood your mind in Jesus Name!
Jenny

~Kathie~ said...

Beautifully written post! Praying for your storm to psaa.

Tina Vega said...

It hit me I should have shared the full-on hissy fit I had a Bible study on Wednesday when an accumlation of little things threw me over the edge. Part of my struggle is the need for control (something God has been weaning me of for years). Life is SO MUCH BETTER when I remember who is really in charge :)

Deanna said...

I hear you - I'm praying for you!
Whatever direction your path takes He will go before you and make a way for you!

Psalm 130 is one that I have prayed so often "while waiting"- as that watchman waiting, expecting, hoping for the deliverer to come and EVERYtime He shows up!!

Ginger said...

Waiting is so hard. I love what the last post-er said, that waiting on the Lord is to always wait with expectancy. That makes all the difference.
Praying for you and yours. Have had a hissy fit this week as well over lots of little things.
Ginger

Mellissa said...

Praying you and your family thru this. Know that you have been on my heart a lot.

Pat said...

PSALM 112:7-8
I am not afraid of receiving bad news: my faith is strong and I trust in the Lord. I am not worried or afraid.

Very thankful for your prayers!!

Anonymous said...

THE STORM IS OVER AND THERE IS NOW A RAINBOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

StaceyD

Tina Vega said...

What a GREAT way of putting it, Stacey.