Wait Eagerly

Romans 8:25
"If we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it."

"God prepares his servants most often through extended periods of waiting, designed to hone skills and break wills, to shape character and give depth. While He works, we wait."
-from Swindoll's book, Paul: A Man of Grace and Grit

Any time God puts a word before me, on multiple occasions, I tend to turn an ear toward it. I can sometimes be stubborn in my listening. So, God will place something in my path over and over. I have recently been hearing the word "wait" a whole lot. And based out of Romans 8, it is pointing more toward "waiting eagerly".

Waiting has never been associated with eagerness much in my life. Typically waiting has to do with stewing, impatience, self-pity, etc. You get the picture. So, to consider waiting with eagerness...now, that puts a new spin on things. In this book I'm reading on the life of Paul, Chuck Swindoll pictures this type of waiting as a mother who is expecting a child. She waits, knowing that hope and life will soon be birthed. The waiting is not without hope. There is a certainty of life to come. So, the waiting is a time of preparation and hope-fullness.

So, as I approach this new year of 2009, I am hearing the word "wait eagerly". What would typically take the wind out of my sails is actually helping me "to sail". To look forward with hopefulness that more life is to come. God must have some incredible experiences ahead this year. There is more shaping and breaking that He wants to do. But I know my Father's heart toward me is good. I know He is initiating more of Christ in me. So, through it all, I wait eagerly for what is to come.