"Those that wait on the Lord..."

"...they shall inherit the earth." Psalm 37:9

Henri Nouwen writes about the spirituality of waiting on God and calls it active waiting. He talks about anticipating what God is going to do as we wait for Him to answer or act. It's a worshipful experience.

I've been thinking about that a lot lately.

What does it mean to actively wait on the Lord in my life?

This morning in my reading, I found this little piece:

"Waiting upon the Lord" is an expression that rends to sound comtemplative and introspective. Actually it's a summons to serve. Servants "wait" on their masters, and "waiters" serve their customers.

Waiting becomes more about God than about me. Waiting becomes the means by which I serve and, therefore, worship. Waiting becomes living. That's the kind of waiting I want to do. As I wait on God for all things, I choose to serve Him, to be active before and for Him, and to anticipate what He's got in store.

It brings a whole new way of looking at the often quoted verse from Isaiah. "Those that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and grow weary, they will walk and not grow faint." (Isaiah 40:31). It's not just about curling up and peacefully resting but about getting on with what He's got in store. In my service of Him, we will be renewed. By living lives waiting on God, I am restored. By looking to His needs instead of mine, I find life.

Hurry up and wait!