Cabin Devotion with Miss Abigail
Waiting
What are you waiting for? Who are you waiting on? Maybe you’re just waiting for life to go back to normal. Maybe you’re waiting for cooler weather. Maybe you’re waiting for a loved one to come back home. Maybe you’re waiting for school to start, or to go on a trip, or maybe you’re waiting to find out what’s next for you. Maybe you’re waiting for God to just “do something already,” to send you a detailed letter of his plan for your life and while he’s at it, go ahead and cure COVID-19.
I often equate waiting to wasting time. In a waiting room I read silly magazines and swing my feet and get frustrated. I choose the shortest lines and have Amazon Prime so that I don’t have to wait. Waiting makes me feel bored, anxious, and angry. But if waiting is actually the absolute WORST, why are there so many verses in the Bible that encourage believers to wait, even blessing those who wait? (Psalm 27:14, Psalm 37:34, Psalm 130:5-6, Lamentations 3:26, Hosea 12:6, Micah 7:7, for starters.)
Perhaps my understanding of waiting is incomplete. Maybe waiting isn’t only for waiting rooms and waiting in lines
, but also for waiting tables. Think about it: how often are waitresses sitting around in a busy restaurant, unsure of what to do? Answer: not too often! They are busy, asking how they can serve their customers and looking around for tasks that need to be done.
What if we waited for the Lord this way? We can, along with many writers of scripture, tell God we are available to serve. “Here I am! Send me!” (Isaiah 6:8). We know that God is always on the lookout for willing Kingdom workers (2 Chronicles 16:9). But we can also look around for ways to serve. While the Bible may not have a specific list of phone numbers for places for you to go serve in your community, it is full of instructions on how to live to glorify God. “[God] has shown you what is good; and what does the Lord require of you but to do justice, and to love kindness, and to walk humbly with your God?” (Micah 6:8). Miss Sarah in her cabin devo a couple weeks ago gave some great suggestions on how to begin doing justice and loving kindness.
And even if we are stuck at home, we can still actively wait on the Lord and serve him there. Paul writes: “whatever you do, work heartily, as for the Lord and not for men… you are serving the Lord Christ.” So, as you’re cleaning your room or washing the dishes or playing games with your family or reading books or doing homework, think about how you, as a daughter of God, are doing those things for Him. The next time you find yourself in a moment or season of waiting, ask yourself “How can I glorify God right here, right now?” Like Mary, when she learned she would become the mother to the Messiah, we can say “I am a servant [or waitress!] of the Lord” (Luke 1:38).
Next steps:
- Begin in prayer. Ask God to increase your trust in His good plan for your life. Ask Him to open your eyes to opportunities to serve, and to help you do your daily tasks to His glory.
- Read Psalm 37. Think about how David encourages us to rest, trust, dwell, delight, be still, and wait on the Lord. I encourage you, like Miss Caroline did in her devo a few weeks ago, to read a few Psalms a day. As you do, keep track of how the writers actively wait on the Lord.
- Listen to the worship song “While I’m Waiting” by John Waller as a reminder to trust, serve, and worship while waiting on God.
Love,
Miss Abigail
