Why Wait?

Blog by Alan Fadling

There are many words of command in Scripture that stir and inspire Christian leaders. We love words that invite us to action—words like “go,” “teach,” and “work.” Such language usually feels like an easy fit for many Christian leaders.

But there is at least one word of command in Scripture that causes many Christian leaders no small level of anxiety. David uses this word in the closing lines of one of his psalms:

I remain confident of this:

I will see the goodness of the LORD

in the land of the living.

Wait for the LORD;

be strong and take heart

and wait for the LORD.

(Psalm 27:13-14)

I’m sure you noticed the word I’m talking about: “wait.” Christian leaders often feel that the main thing they should be doing is leading. This is, of course, a key activity for leaders. But the best kind of leading is the fruit of following. The best kind of leading grows in the soil of waiting.

David, in his waiting posture, talks about his enduring confidence. It isn’t a confidence rooted in his own self-assurance but in God’s measureless faithfulness. As he waits, he remembers.

He has witnessed the goodness of the Lord so many times along the way that he has come to an abiding confidence in that goodness. Our lives are soaked in the goodness of God—even when situations around us seem awful. Even when we feel like we just need to do something.

A deep reality of good undergirds everything, and waiting on God grants us the ability to see it. As David says, we find strength. We grow in holy patience, that most unhurried of virtues, to wait until the vision of God’s goodness becomes clearer. We “take heart.”

At key moments God very well might be urging us, “Don’t just do something. Stand there!”

For Reflection

• In what situation right now might God be inviting you to wait?
• In what ways have you been tempted to “just do something” rather than wait?
• What good fruit might develop in you and through your leadership if you take God up on his invitation?

Photo by Sid Leigh on Unsplash