Waiting: the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time or until something else happens. (Noun)
Preparing: to make something or someone ready for use or able to do or deal with something. (verb)
I spend so much time waiting for things I desire to happen.. I think about what it would be like if I could just get to that moment and begin living in what I desperately desire. Before I know it, I'm missing and longing for something I don't even have yet. All the while I'm just going through the motions day in and day out only seeing each day without what I'm "waiting" for.
What if my waiting really isn't about making me spend every day being reminded of what I don't have? What if it's about preparing me for the very thing(s) I'm waiting on? This really changed my perspective and heart when I looked at the very parts of speech for each word. Waiting can be used in a sentence as a noun or adjective which neither of those options allow for it to be actually "doing" something. On the other hand, no matter how preparing is used in a sentence, it is always a verb. This means it is continuously showing "action". I wonder how often I waste so much time waiting (doing nothing) while waiting on God to answer some of my heart's deepest desires? How much time have I let pass sitting "still"? I want to prepare for them by being present and alert during THIS moment. Every moment, good or bad, serves a purpose regardless if we know it or not. Yes, Scripture says we are to "be still and know that I am God." But what it doesn't say is "be still and freeze in fear that your Father won't fulfill the desires of your heart".
Waiting can be hard. Better yet, it can even be painful, discouraging, sad, lonely, or scary. But when I operate in faith that I know the plans He has for me are for good, I can surrender my wait to Him. I can trust my wait and heart with Him and show up preparing for the purpose of today. After all, He promises "when the time is right, I the Lord will make it happen!"
