This is my third blog post on the subject of waiting. Number 3 is a powerful divine number.

I sense this is a birthing of a message of hope for those who are currently struggling.  From all the conversations I have had with quite a number of people in person, on the phone, via email and facebook, the feeling of being in-between has been the common theme. This post is written with you in mind my friends. I am thinking of you as you go through your personal challenge. I know that God wants to show His grace and goodness through every situation, even when the script looks scrambled.

You may be “waiting” for an answer, for a door to open, for a prayer to be answered, for a life partner, for a job, for finances, for your pain to go away, for your next step to be revealed, etc. It is not an easy place to be, but be encouraged with this:

 “The presence of pain doesn’t always mean the absence of God on this side of glory.”

It’s not easy when you and I find ourselves in the middle, in-between places. Here’s how I describe it:

When you are in the middle….

• You are too far from when it all started but also too far from the end. You have no sense of edges, borders or something to offer definition. Uncertainty is at its peak.
• It’s when the challenge is steepest and the muscles are sore from holding on.
• It’s when you are tempted the most to quit, when you start to ask, what’s the point?
• That’s when the night is at its darkest hour.

 “The best Miracles happen at the 11^th hour, but usually we feel like dying just a minute before.”

 The definition that I like the most about WAITING is from the root word qavah in Hebrew means to wait, to hope, to expect.

You learn so much during times of waiting than when you would when everything is working well. Every challenge, if engaged well will open up new trust valves in your relationship with God. It will move you from being set in your ways to a place of flowing with His guidance step by step.

You have an enormous reservoir of strength within; it becomes available only when you need it, and usually it is during times of waiting on God.

So what can help while waiting in-between places?

• Feel The Discomfort – Uncertainty creates discomfort. We don’t like discomfort and we try to avoid it all the time. However, discomfort is a sign of growth taking place, the stretching of the soul. Lean into the discomfort, don’t run away from it. Remember, faith is not the absence of pain. The more pain you feel, the more you are stretching your capacity for endurance. As you lean in, you will eventually start to reach your threshold, which leads to a turning point. Nothing lasts forever. 

• Avoid Negativity – Becoming bitter or anxious will only crush your spirit. Every challenge is meant to unleash your inner strength, not to crush you. When one refuses to engage life’s obstacles, the opposite happens – the sheer weight of it will crush the soul.

• Choose the Highest Way – Do not give into the temptation to follow the path of least resistance, the quick-fixes, short-cuts, they will come back to bite you. The tough options ironically are the ones that open the doorway for your breakthrough, if you don’t bail out.

“What we want to avoid the most is very crucial to our spiritual awakening.”

• Trust – The truth is if you learn to trust God, obedience becomes easy. I can say for sure that because I made up my mind upfront to engage God fully in this season, every day when I face a situation where obedience is needed, it is a lot easier to obey even when I don’t feel like it, because I made a choice to trust Him. All I can say is TRUSTING GOD is the key.

• Re-align the Heart – One of the most amazing things that can come from a time of waiting is when our hearts get re-shaped into a more softer, sensitive, open and tender form because Life has a way of calcifying our hearts. We get used to our autopilot, our default ways.

• Get Toned and Lean Muscles – Who doesn’t want that? This is one of the great things about being stretched. You will look toned and lean in the spirit. Endurance produces character, and character produces hope. Waiting is the spiritual “weight” that targets the muscles, a powerful tool for strengthening the soul.
• Be Open for Support – It’s overwhelming to walk alone during transitional or trying times. Make sure you seek divine connections that will stand with you, feel your heart and believe with you. Some times you need to tap into other people’s faith. Not everyone will be ideal, but there will be a few people that are assigned to you, they will be your angels. I know who my angels are, and I love them!

Imagine you are watching a movie: Do you obsess about the end while you are watching or do you enjoy every scene as it comes, trusting that it will all come together at the end? Right!  When we apply that same principle, we will find incredible strength and hope everyday for waiting, for your prayers to be answered, for the door to open. It is not easy, but it is possible.

In the end, if you engage the process fully, you will grow thicker wings that will allow you to graduate from being a mere bird to an eagle, soaring to greater heights.

Will love to hear your thoughts on WAITING…