Dominic & Lindsay Russo

the definition of wait: 1. to remain inactive or in a state of response, as until something expected happens 2. to be available or in readiness 3. to remain neglected for a time 4. to look forward to eagerly

Let me just start off by saying that I hate to wait!  Especially when it pertains to something that I am extremely excited about or looking forward to.  Time literally stands still as the hours, days or even weeks pass painfully slow until I experience what I am waiting for. (I probably wasn't the right person to have an 11 month and 3 week engagement!)

I know what you're thinking -- no one likes to wait. Why, then, does God sometimes make us wait before He answers our prayers?  I can think of many circumstances that I've had to wait for, like knowing what to do after high school, finding my husband, or trying to figure out God's master plan for my life.

Although it would be nice to get quick and immediate answers (and sometimes we do),  God often takes us on a journey of waiting in order to either teach us something along the way or to build anticipation for what's to come.

I am reading an amazing book called Nurture by Lisa Bevere.  There is a chapter in the book that deals with waiting as it relates to Hannah in the Bible. She waited on God to bless her with children for a longgg time.  (I don't like to wait days for God to answer me - let alone years!)  Lisa says something profound that really opened my eyes to the concept of God's timing:

"God will use a barren season of life to increase our capacity for more.  Hannah cried out for a single child and in addition to Samuel the prophet, she was given a household."

Although the timing seemed painfully long, God not only fulfilled His promise to her, but He also fulfilled it exceedingly and abundantly more than she could ask or think!

Please take a moment to read the following poem with an open heart and mind - there might just be something that God is trying to do inside of you while you're waiting.

"The Wait Poem" by Russell Kelfer

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cred; Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied. I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate…and the Master so gently said, “Wait.”

“Wait?  You say wait?” my indignant reply.  “Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!  Is Your hand shortened?  Or have You not heard?  By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming Your word.

My future and all to which I relate hangs in the balance and You tell me to “Wait?”  I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign.  Or even a ‘no’, to which I’ll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe, We need but to ask, and we shall receive.  Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:  I’m weary of asking!  I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate as my Master replied again, “Wait.”  So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut, and grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting…for what?”

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine…and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.  I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.  I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.  You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.  You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint.  You’d not know the Power that I give to the faint.

You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair; you’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there.  You’d not know the joy of resting in Me when darkness and silence are all you can see.

You’d never experience the fullness of love when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.  You would know that I give, and I save, for a start, but you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night, the faith that I give when you walk without sight.  The depth that’s beyond getting just what you ask from an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You’d never know should your pain quickly flee, what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.  Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true, but oh, the loss if I lost what I’m doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see that the greatest of gifts is to truly know Me.  And though oft My answers seem terribly late, My most precious answer of all is still ‘WAIT’.”

Enjoy the journey!

-Lindsay

"Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer."

Romans 12:12