Active Waiting: Defining Our Terms
Active Waiting: Defining Our Terms.
“In my mind I keep returning to something, something that gives me hope – the mercies of the Lord are not exhausted, His tender compassions have not ended. On the contrary, they are new every morning! How great is your faithfulness! The Lord is all I have, I say; therefore I will put my hope in Him. The Lord is good to those waiting for Him, to those who are seeking Him out. It is good to wait patiently for the saving help of the Lord.” (Lamentations 3:21-26).
WAIT: “qavah,” a common Hebrew term in Scripture for “wait,” which has a literal meaning and a figurative meaning. We get a fuller understanding of “qavah” and what it means to “wait” in the biblical sense, when we combine the literal with the figurative:
Literal Meaning of qavah: the process of weaving together separate strands into one; braiding together what is needed for wholeness; binding together by twisting and entwining tightly. Examples of this root word for wait would be braiding hair, twining rope, twisting strands together for a cord. To wait in this sense is not passive, but active; not a waste of time, but a useful time; not something to avoid at all costs but instead to redeem as fully as possible; not the time for seeking distractions from potential boredom, but a time to recognize it as an opportunity.
Figurative Meaning of qavah: to actively hope with patience; to maintain a persistent faith; to peacefully trust in God; to be content in the midst of delay; to live in eager anticipation; to engage in the spiritual activity of listening for/to God; to alertly watch for God in the midst of uncertainty; to look for God’s guidance and presence; to have a faithful expectation of what has been promised by God; to prepare oneself for whatever comes next; to “collect oneself,” to actively “get it together.”
The Purposes of Waiting: to gain and renew strength; to learn dependence on God; to flesh out one’s submission to God; to grow spiritually; to make progress in spiritual discipline; to gain wisdom and understanding; to keep from making rash or unwise decisions; to cooperate with God in His transformation of us; to continue securing one’s intimate union with God; to grow in patience and hopefulness; to develop creative responses with unexpected delays. Waiting can also be an opportunity to prayerfully seek God’s healing of shame, guilt, fear, trauma; to grow in “being content in all circumstances (Philippians 4:11-13).”
Instant Then: About forty-five years ago, Sheri and I had a life-changing Bible teacher named Haskell, and every once in awhile he would lament how everything at that time seemed to be going so fast. This was in the latter 1970’s, and he would mention things like instant coffee, touch-tone telephones, instant Polaroid pictures, and the increased need for speed everywhere. Occasionally he would say that it just might be to our detriment that everything was shouting at us that faster is better. “Be careful,” he would say, “because we live in an instant generation.” Sure enough, this was the era when the phrase “instant gratification” came into vogue.
Instant Now: Can you imagine what our dearly departed Haskell would say now? We are a world that is absolutely addicted to speed. I want it now! Make it happen yesterday, sooner than now! We are like trained seals who are constantly in need of their little fish, who will not tolerate delay in any way. Impatience is now a virtue, and speed is our fix. Slowing down is unthinkable and painfully uncomfortable. In a way, who could blame us, since this is the generation who grew up on technology and don’t know anything different. We have been programmed to expect quick convenience in practically everything. Compare for a minute 2024 with 1979. We now have instant conveniences that were not even contemplated back then: high-speed internet; computers; digital photography; constant news cycles; supersonic jets; a thin, little rectangular box in your hand that contains full sets of encyclopedias, Oxford dictionaries, on-demand movies and TV, video games, instant messaging to anyone in the world. All this at your fingertips for immediate use at any time.
Results of Our Need for Speed: The inability to wait; the habit of skim-reading instead of reading in depth, which has resulted in shallow thinking and a superficial understanding of practically everything; ridiculously short attention spans, and according to the latest research the average young person literally has the attention span of a goldfish; multitasking, which splinters one’s focus and results in reduced efficiency in thinking and doing anything productive; short stories are all the students can read in school now, with no assignments as ambitious as a complete book; the constant need for stimulation, which then leaves careful reflection and deep thinking in the dust; contemporary businesses now count on the impatience of people, and provide same-day delivery, extremely fast food, and a rush order for everything; the development of weak minds and questionable brain development; superficial relationships; mental illness due to lengthy screen time and addiction to social media;
“A cord of three strands is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12).
An Antidote to Instant Gratification: Do whatever it takes to learn the biblical art of waiting. Do your part in the active version of waiting that involves the process of braiding together within you what you need to survive as you patiently wait and eagerly expect God’s best. Yes, three strands braided together is strong, which makes four strands even stronger! So, with each of us being a strand, let us bind together with some of these vital threesomes during our time of trustful waiting, of practicing contentment in the midst of delay or difficulty. In the durable oneness produced in our braiding, we will remember the old meaning of integrity: when something is produced that is put together so effectively that it will accomplish its purpose. If a bridge has integrity, it has all its parts integrated in a way that achieves it purpose. When we braid together what is crucial for our lives, then we will have integrity, soundness, coherence, usefulness. While we are waiting with eager anticipation, it is important to make an unbreakable rope that will endure for eternity. The spiritual skill of waiting includes the process of weaving together threesomes like the following into our lives. When we are sitting in the waiting room, we will be fortified to wait biblically as the one strand of our life become increasingly entwined with these three strands:
- Blend together three aspects of prayer while waiting: Praise Almighty God; Intercede for others; Offer up personal requests;
- Bind into our lives an intimate union with the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit;
- Braid together into our character the three Christian Graces: Faith, Hope and Love;
- Continue weaving into an integrated oneness Truth, Goodness and Beauty to gain the mind of Christ;
- Twist together tightly the three strands of Prophet, Priest, and King to Become a “Little Christ.”
Remember that if Solomon was right in saying a rope comprised of three braided strands is nearly unbreakable, imagine how strong a rope of four strands would be? Each of these threesomes above are begging to be braided together within us during our time of waiting. This will all be discussed in further articles.
“They who patiently hope in the Lord by weaving together aspects of their lives with Him, will find their strength renewed. Trusting in the Lord, they will be able to lift off and soar like the eagles. When they are running their race, they will never get winded or weary; when they walking through life, they will never become tired or give up.” (Isaiah 40:31).