Finding God's Presence ~ God's Waiting Room

by Nan Jones   @NanJonesAuthor

Guest Blogger, Alice Wisler   @AliceWisler

I haven't had the honor of meeting Alice Wisler in person, but I can already tell that I would love her. She is a fellow author with Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas. Alice's message about waiting on God is powerful in a very tender and compelling way. Waiting is hard, isn't it? And sometimes trusting while we're waiting is even harder. I'm praying that Alice's message will touch your spirit and give you strength for the journey as you wait on Him.

Welcome Alice! 

But those who wait on the Lord

shall renew their strength;

They shall mount up with wings as eagles,

They shall run and not be weary,

They shall walk and not faint. 

Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

I used to think that the person who would do all of this soaring in the sky was doing it AFTER his waiting was over. So as a waiter, I sat and hoped and prayed.  Weary, I read how one day I would run and walk without the burdens of wondering and waiting.

The other night as I sat under a crescent moon on my porch stoop, I saw it all differently.

Now.

Because although we do have to wait, and often painfully long, God is a God of now.

He is calling us to live now.

Even in our waiting, He doesn’t go on vacation or cease to listen to our cries or leave His throne.

He grows us.

We grow while we wait.

In fact, my waiting has produced some of the best growth and spiritual character. In spite of waiting I can still live today.  I can still experience joy and contentment (as the Apostle Paul wrote of).  I am learning in the waiting room of God. I cling to Him. I have also felt the needs of His people, praying often for others who must wait, dear friends old and new who have asked me to pray for their really tough circumstances. 

Last night I promised God that when He answered one of my prayers in this waiting room, that I would not feel as though I was done with needing Him or trusting Him. I promised that I would not grow cocky or overly proud or think I had accomplished anything.  I told Him that I would still love Him, still seek His face, and still know desperately that I need Him.  Always.  And that I can do no good thing without Him. I told Him I would never want what He has taught me to be taken away from me.

I felt as though the clouds of my mind had parted. It was a growth spurt.

Today, as I was going about my usual writing and wondering when God was going to act, I received a wonderful surprise. I received an answer. I was given a writing assignment from a publishing house to write for them! I rejoiced. I wanted to run, to soar.

Hallelujah! At last!

Happy, I was eager to celebrate with a hunk of chocolate or drink that special tea. God had heard my cry, God provided me with work! 

But the truth is, this is not my first time to have to cling to God and wait nor will it be my last. I still have other areas of my life to wait over.  

Yet this time around, instead of wanting to hurry up the wait or push it aside or hold my breath until it leaves, I'm learning that waiting upon God is not at all ONLY a season. The truth is, it is a way of life.

Before I thought once my prayer was answered, I could kick up my heels and I'd be done with waiting. (I used to be young once and I think youthful minds think this way.)

Now I see the value in waiting, the beauty in growing, the honesty of a cultivated-by-God heart.

Dear God, I am your servant.  I belong to you.

And I wait.

Because you are a God worth waiting for. 

~*~

Are you waiting?

What are you waiting for today?

What do you want to learn as you wait upon Him?

A Tweetable to Encourage Others

Where is God when I'm waiting? @AliceWisler shares a glimpse via @NanJonesAuthor. (Click to Tweet)

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Meet Alice: 

Bio: Like most people, Alice doesn’t care to wait.  She’d rather have a magic wand and produce what she’d like instantly. Alice is the author of six novels, the most recent, a coming-of-age story, Under the Silk Hibiscus (LPC Publishers), set in a camp during World War II. She speaks across the country at workshops and conferences on writing through grief and loss. Her devotional, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning, is a safe place to reconcile life’s many losses. Alice lives in Durham, NC, with her family where she and her husband have a carving business, Carved By Heart.

Links

Website:  http://www.alicewisler.com

Patchwork Quilt Blog: http://alicewisler.blogspot.com/

Writing The Heartache Blog: http://writingtheheartache.blogspot.com/

Amazon Page: http://www.amazon.com/Alice-J.-Wisler/e/B001J6GVNE/

Take a look at Alice's work: 

Written in devotional format, Getting Out of Bed in the Morning is a companion for those going through sorrow associated with loss—whether brought to the journey through the death of a loved one, failing health, job loss, broken relationships, or weakened family ties. Losses are real and raw; they often make people want to give up, quit trying. Yet, as readers discover how their circumstances can be used to lift hands to God, and in time reach others, they will see how God can use them to be people of encouragement and find beauty once again in a life worth living.

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During World War Two, Nathan and his family are sent to Heart Mountain, an internment camp in Wyoming for Japanese-Americans. Nathan's one desire is to protect the family's gold pocket watch, a family heirloom brought over from Japan. He fails; the watch is stolen. Struggling to make sense of his life in "the land of freedom," Nathan discovers truths about his family, God, and the girl he loves.