Praise stirs up the Spirit of God (July 14th blog). Prayer gets God’s attention and stirs up the Spirit of God (July 21st blog). And what else do we see in Scripture as being something we do that stirs up God’s Spirit?
Waiting on God Stirs up the Spirit
Psalm 40 is an interesting poem. It gives us another glimpse into how our actions get God’s attention. Let me explain. David writes, “I waited patiently for the Lord; And He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps” (verses 1-2). When David chose to “wait patiently for the Lord,” something was stirred up in God’s heart to “incline” toward David. God is touched by people who are willing to wait on Him.
We get the word “wait” from qava in Hebrew, meaning to “twist together like rope, to make strong.” Waiting on God does not imply inactivity. But it refines our understanding of action; not easy for the average American. Our American motto is “don’t just stand there, do something.” God’s motto is often, “Don’t do something, just stand there.” To wait, to qava, is to “braid together something, as in rope.” It has the idea of strengthening.
Waiting is the Process of God Braiding His Desires into Us
Waiting on God strengthens us because it is in the waiting that our desires are braided into God’s desires. He is changing us. It is the mysteries of God that make no sense. But it is in the mysteries of God not moving that we can only achieve a new level of trust in God by waiting. It is in the waiting that God weaves as it were, His glory, His will, His desires into our own. This is often through crying out to Him, worshipping Him, and enjoying Him.
God regularly places things in our lives that make no logical sense. We must go through such times to discover another aspect of God. But God is stirred when we wait; He is at work.
Chronic Acne and Satisfaction
When I was a young Christian at the University of Georgia, I struggled deeply with chronic acne. I went to some of the best dermatologists, and all of them concluded that there was medically nothing that could be done. I would essentially have to “grow out of it.” I asked many people to pray for healing. Nothing changed. Year by year passed, and my acne only got worse. But one day, after receiving a challenge from a Christian leader (Dr. Bill Bright), I changed my approach—from being healed to thanking God for my acne. Unimaginable before, I determined to wait on God and thank Him for my acne. I accepted the acne as having a purpose from God and gave praise to the Lord (Psalm 40:3) for this mysterious “gift.”
A few months later, God completely healed me of my acne! I never struggled with it again. It was like my acceptance of God’s will for my life—even a will I did not like nor understand, and my willingness to just wait on God, stirred up the Spirit of God to heal me. God had braided His desires into my own.
I still don’t understand exactly what happened. But at the point of healing, I was satisfied enough in God that the outcome didn’t matter to me. If it brought God maximum glory, I was good with ongoing acne. My delight was in God, not getting healed. God had braided His will into my own.
Are you waiting on God for something? Are you willing to accept His will and delight in Him? This is a great mystery, but until we are willing to wait, often miracles can’t happen.
Waiting on God,
Pastor Steve
