When Waiting is the Ministry

I've been in a few cities in the United States that have traffic lights with crosswalks. At these crosswalks you have to push a button in order to have the light change color. Once you push the button it takes a few minutes for it to change from green to red and there is a recorded voice that says, "Wait!" over and over again. It can start to grate on your nerves hearing it repeat the word continuously, but the reality is if you don't wait there is a chance you will get hit by a car. Impatience can have devastating effects!

Yesterday, I was in a prayer group of other pastors and ministry leaders and as we were praying a retired pastor prayed the phrase, "Waiting is the ministry, Lord." That resonated with me because it's been where I've felt stuck the past year or so. I feel like I'm in a waiting pattern and at times, feel very impatient. 

The truth is I don't like waiting and I don't like it when God seems silent. It feels as if nothing is happening and that frustrates me because I am a doer and want to get things accomplished. 

That little phrase that was prayed yesterday shot straight into my brain and then into my heart. The Lord reminded me that at times ministry is not activity, but waiting on Him and His timing. If I refuse to wait and run ahead of His plan, there is a good chance my impatience could have devastating results. 

Waiting means being in a listening posture and spending time in the word and prayer. Waiting is not jumping in and saying, "yes" to every opportunity no matter how good. Waiting is staying calm in silence. Waiting sometimes means weeding out activities that keep us in a state of constant activity. If we are always in a perpetual state of frenetic activity then we cannot hear what God wants to say. 

There is a physics concept of inertia of motion that states that an object will move at the same speed and direction unless an external force acts on it.  Continuing to keep the same pace of activity means that at some point something will cause us to come crashing to a stop. 

Waiting is difficult for those who like to plunge in and get things done. It feels painful to wait. However, there will be those times in life when waiting on the Lord is the ministry you are called to do. Of course, we can't stay in a constant state of inactivity either, but for most of us "doers" it is a necessary thing for a time. The other physics concept of inertia of rest states an object at rest will stay that way until an outside force acts upon it. I would rather wait on the Lord and have Him be the outside force telling me it's time to move forward. 

Psalm 27:14 ~ 

Wait for the Lord;

be strong, and let your heart be courageous.

Wait for the Lord.