The Waiting Room

Things I’ve learned in the waiting room.

1. There is healing in praise.

It does not matter the vehicle that is used to worship God. It can come through prayer. It can come through silence and tears. It can come through song. In the moments of intense suffering, whether it is your heart or the body of the one you love, when there is praise, there is healing. Your mind may not understand it. Your will may not accept it. You may not even care to do it but the adoration of our Lord eases the suffering. I, now, begin to see how Paul and Silas could sing in a prison cell when they were beaten, shackled and there was an injustice committed against them. They did not choose this. This was not their fault. They did not deserve what was happening to them. They still gave God the glory. They sang and they let others listen to their song. We don’t worship God to manipulate God so that He could apply His power to our situation. We can only accept that He trusted that our faith could withstand the weight of the situation. He loves us. He will never allow us to go through something we could not bear.

“And God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.” 1st Corinthians 10:13

2. God’s love will find a way to sustain you.

God sends angels. They look like strangers. They look like cousins. They look like friends from work. They wear scrubs. Their signature is hand written on the cards of kindergarten students. God’s love comes through text messages, phone calls, flowers, gas cards, and a gift of hotel stay. God’s love gives us the strength to hug others who are hurting. His love gives us the opportunity to share in the suffering of others and encourage them. We know their pain. We have tasted the bitterness of their situation. We know their fear. Now God’s love has given us the courage to walk them through the fire. But even when your faith is broken and your hope is lost. God’s love will sustain you.

“And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love.” – 1st Corinthians 13:13

3. You still have to lead.

You still have to make decisions. You still have to confront the situation especially when it’s the last thing you want to do. If you can lead your family and friends through the waiting room experience, you can lead people through anything. Once you have faced your greatest fear and your greatest pain and outlasted it, all other fears and pains seem minimal. Joy, family and peace become more important than entertainment, distractions and selfishness. You become sober minded. Your focus for what is valuable and important sharpens significantly. Your endurance and stamina are forced to surface or you will shut down. Shutting down is unacceptable. Your heart either becomes hardened or softened. There are no other choices. You still have to lead it one way or the other.

“Listen, my son, and be wise, and set your heart on the right path:” – Proverbs 23:19

May you find God's love healing you. May you have the courage to face tomorrow and lead well.