Waiting
“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary, They shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:31
I probably can count on one hand the number of times I’ve been to the emergency room with any of my four children. This is not a flex; it’s the grace of God. Recently, I made a trip with my daughter who had been unwell for a few days. On the third day of her dis-ease, I decided I would contact her doctor’s office and get some instructions, which were to go to the hospital. I had been praying all along because I knew that what was happening with her was beyond my understanding. When you go to the ER, you usually know what you’re signing up for and that you’re not going anywhere, anytime soon. You understand that what brought you there is more important than the wait, so you submit to the process to get the help you need. However, this trip was different from the others I’ve made in the past.
The medical professionals tried to help us the best way they could, but there were no clear definitive answers for why my daughter was unwell. I believe this was on purpose. In those moments of waiting, I realized that God was teaching. He was teaching my daughter and He was teaching me. Community in Christ is great, comforting, and extremely useful. The Holy Spirit does wonderful, amazing things in community between believers. He heals and it is beautiful. I love it. But there are some things, that He allows in our lives as His dearly loved children, that are just for you and Him to walk through together to develop your dependence, grow your faith, and strengthen your personal testimony of His character, holiness, grace, and sovereignty. He is our Father and He desires us to know Him intimately. I believe that God is leading my daughter through this. He is the only true source of help and hope. He is helping her to lift her eyes to the hills from whence cometh her help, and to keep her eyes on Him. Me too. We came face to face with the fact that no matter what tools of ingenuity you create, or technology you develop with all the education you can acquire these things mean nothing if God Himself does not reveal His wisdom and knowledge. The human body, along with all things we see or don’t see, is His creation, and He alone gives insight into its workings. And in His sovereignty, whatever He chooses to do is good and right, and we must continue to trust Him.
I met many people that night in the ER. I was different this time around. No anxiety, no fear, no misplaced expectations. This made me able to engage and observe the people around me. To be present. I could see them as people—image bearers just trying to do the best they could with a call to serve others on their lives. I prayed for them. I was peaceful despite the hours upon hours of waiting, all the hypothesis testing, tiredness, the COLD, hunger, and most of all my daughter’s pain. I KNOW GOD DID THAT.
A couple times we had to get some imaging done, so we rolled my daughter from our room to the corridor where the technicians were. As we walked through, I noticed these rooms or cubicles which had no doors to the left of me. On the right were the private rooms where the imaging took place. The people in the cubicles to the left of me were mostly waiting for the nurses who brought them there to pick them up and take them back to their room. I also waited. One woman who had been waiting there tried to leave on her own; she was unsuccessful. She didn’t have the credentials to access the doors. It was not her time. I greeted an older gentleman who was alone and in a wheelchair. He greeted me as well. The hall was dimly lit and seeing him parked in a dark corner made me feel compassion for him. I could see he was tired. He said as much. He complained about having to wait so long and how understaffed the hospital was. I nodded with compassion and then shared with him how thankful I was that I could go to the hospital at all and be seen and helped. He listened but continued his grumble. I asked God to help him. When the imaging was finished, I gathered my daughter and gave the old man a “good night”. The whole scene reminded me of a scripture my sister had mentioned on a phone call earlier that day. She talked about how after Jesus was crucified, He went to the Old Testament saints, the righteous who were waiting in Sheol for the atonement of the Messiah, and He took them to heaven to be with Him because it was finished. I saw the people in these cubicles as being in the right place but still waiting for resolution and release. Almost there. The righteous people in Sheol were in a place of comfort—Abraham’s bosom. It can be hard to find comfort in a hospital. Anticipation was everywhere-- in the air. Yet, if your hope is in God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit, everywhere you go He is and He will be with you, comfort you and give you, His peace.
Eventually, we were released. My daughter is steadily improving every day. Praise God! I’m no longer seeking answers for what happened or why. I don’t need to understand. I only need to hear the voice of my Father and to trust that He is at work. He is always working. I know it. Travis Greene has a song called, “While I’m Waiting”. In it he says this:
“What my eyes can’t see, I still believe, everything spoken to me, there’s no word that can come back void, I will trust the report of the LORD! God is not a man, that He should lie, every need He will supply, so I will wait, I will not be moved, I believe, I believe, I will trust in You”. Then he says: “While I’m waiting, I’m getting stronger, my faith is rising, and I will run on, while I’m waiting, I’m lifting up on wings as eagles, I believe, I will trust in You”.
This is the posture of the believer. This is how we wait in faith for the things God has promised us. And while we wait God is building in us unshakable faith and strength of character to do the things He’s called us to do, to become who we were always destined to be. He is building our witness so that we can minister to others, testifying on behalf of the Lord Jesus Christ just as the Holy Spirit does for us, even in the midst of our own personal trials and tribulations. This is the Christ Life. This is what we are called to. And there is joy-- joy inexpressible that no one can take away together with peace that surpasses all understanding. In Him, our needs are met and our hope is sustained and secured because of His unfailing love for us. Whatever we face, we face it with Him because He lives in us. It is His delight to make His home in us. So, we can go into places like a hospital, unaware we’ve been sent, and pray for others, interceding for them with compassion just as Christ did for us on the Cross. Something He continues to do today at His Father’s right hand.
While waiting for God to answer our prayers, we can rest and trust God to release the answer at the right time for our good and His ultimate glory. We can have faith that He will not disappoint us, leaving us waiting in the wings. He will come for us. I testify to you today that God is the Healer, He is the Answer, He is the Hope, He is Love, He is the Reward, and He is worth the wait. We only need believe.