HOLD ON TIGHT

One of the things I have had to learn to do lately, is to wait. Wait for the builders to put in the final windows and leave site. Wait for the adhesive to dry under the tiles in the new utility room so that I can move and plug my freezer in. Wait for the plumber to put the toilet in! Wait to move back home…

Some of the waiting has been active waiting – doing what we can do to hasten our return home – cleaning, painting, aforesaid floor tiling. Some of the waiting has been passive. Waiting for the Covid test results, waiting to see if, and how the virus affects our loved ones, waiting out the isolation period. Waiting to cuddle my grandson again. All of the waiting has been stressful, one way or another. Some has been downright terrifying.

During a really difficult period a few years back, I learnt something about waiting. I had been familiar with the much repeated words of scripture about waiting on the Lord, but something I read gave me a whole new revelation of what that meant. Waiting on the Lord is definitely not passive waiting – not like waiting at a bus stop, or in a waiting room.

The Hebrew word for ‘wait’ used in the Old Testament can also be translated as ‘bind’, or ‘thread’. So it comes with the implication that waiting on the Lord, is not waiting FOR Him to do something, rather it is leaning into Him in the wait, binding ourselves to Him, holding on tight.  It is choosing to wait with HOPE, remembering His promises. It is choosing to TRUST Him in the waiting, remembering His faithfulness. It is choosing to WORSHIP Him in the waiting, remembering who He is and what He is capable of. It is holding on, while holding on  – for the better times, the answers, the promises to be fulfilled.

I have had to choose to hold on tight again this week. To not let my anxieties and disappointments derail me. Because the promise is that if I wait on Him, He will strengthen my heart, and the waiting will be so much easier to endure with a strengthened heart.

Here’s what I’ve learned through it all:
    Don’t give up; don’t be impatient;
    be entwined as one with the Lord.
    Be brave and courageous, and never lose hope.
    Yes, keep on waiting—for he will never disappoint you!             

Psalm 27:14 TPT*

Joy Margetts is new to blogging, and new to being published. Her debut novel ‘The Healing‘ was published by Instant Apostle on 19 March 2021. A work of historic fiction, set in mediaeval Wales against the backdrop of Cistercian abbey life, it is also a story of faith, hope and God’s redemptive power. Joy has also self- published a short novella, ‘The Beloved‘ as both a companion to ‘The Healing‘, and as an easy to read standalone story, which is available to buy on Amazon Kindle.

More information on Joy and her writing can be found here www.joymargetts.com

*The Passion Translation®. Copyright © 2017, 2018 by Passion & Fire Ministries, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.