The Courage to Wait

"Wait on the Lord: be of good courage..." (Psl. 27:14) 

In life, there are times when a single act of courage is called for. There are other times when prolonged heroic action is required. But perhaps the greatest show of courage comes when we're waiting to see the hand of God or receive the go ahead to make a move. This, my friend, will take every bit of spiritual and gutsy courage you and I can muster. Especially when some around us are saying, "Either give up or do something, even if it's wrong!" 

The truth is, faith is never passive, even when it appears reluctant. When the children of Israel were marching around and around the walls of Jericho, it may have looked to those inside that they were too afraid to actually fight. Nothing takes more courage than withstanding derision. When they did fight, after seven days of parade making, they had already won the battle over the urge to cut short God's clear instructions through Joshua. The time to move had come, but if they had surrendered to the impulse to strike early, does anyone think the outcome would have been the same. Their great show of courage started long before they stormed the walls and defeated the enemy...at least seven days before.

The least favorite place for most of us is the "waiting room" of a doctor's office or hospital. We just want to get it over with. Yet, that's where we all find ourselves at various times in our lives: in God's "waiting room," waiting for answered prayer or permission to make a move. But here's something you can can mark down, big and plain: God's in the waiting room with us. He says so in Isaiah 30:18: "And therefore will The Lord wait, that he may be gracious unto you..." He's there for a purpose, and so are we. He's waiting to be gracious to us...to show us His grace. The question is, are we willing to wait with Him?

"Sometimes it takes a great deal of courage just to say what we ought to say, and sometimes it takes more courage to say nothing. " ~ George H. Morrison