Waiting on a Promise

Psalm 37:34 Wait on the LORD, and keep his way...

The day ahead is full of promise. Promise from God, promise to self, and promise of possibility. And so I am waiting.

My dog, Rollo, is sitting at my feet staring up the stairs. He is waiting too. In a bit he will hear the sound of children. Slowly. One by one they will get up and move about. He stares up there waiting. There is promise that a child will appear at the top. And to his delight, and theirs, they will make eye contact, the dogs tail wagging ferociously and the child pointing and squealing his name. Promise.

In my waiting I am looking up hopefully too. Maybe a bit less patiently than my dear friend. My soul gets restless as the soul of the human does. Training sets it steady like a hunter, still and ready, yet patient. Movement-- restlessness can bring defeat. But it is in the steady waiting. Quiet. Did I learn this from the dog?

Lamentations 3:25 The LORD is good unto them that wait for Him...

The instructions are clear. The promise is clear. It's just the waiting that is muddy. Relying upon myself to sit and wait on God. I know I can't do it alone. I know I need His help. I pray and talk with Him about my restless nature and I tell Him, like the dear friend that He is that I want to wait. I want the promise. And with humor and lesson to be learned His answer is slow. More waiting. His answer comes quietly. My movement a distraction from the Word He has for me. I miss it. And in angst I seek Him again for the promise.

Has the waiting become long and intense? I feel like it has. I am frustrated and believe that God has forgotten His promise. I know He hasn't. But my mind. Oh, my mind. A spot for the deceiver to slip into my conscious.

So, silly as it may seem, I look to be more like Rollo. Waiting. Waiting. When he gets restless, he lays his head down, but he doesn't move. His ears rise at the slightest sound, but his body is still. I imagine his mind is still too. On task. Just where I need to learn to keep my mind. Steady and unmoving, quiet and patient. Waiting on my promise.

And just then the frame of a small child appears from around the corner. Delight in her voice as she points, Rollo standing and wagging and wiggling. His patience rewarded. The child clamboring down the staircase. Thus I ready my soul and I align my spirit to wait on Him.

Hebrews 6:12 Then, instead of being lazy, you will imitate those who are inheriting the promises through faith and patience.