{"id":20818,"date":"2000-12-13T00:00:00","date_gmt":"2000-12-13T00:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/2000\/12\/13\/hard-work-of-waiting\/"},"modified":"2000-12-13T00:00:00","modified_gmt":"2000-12-13T00:00:00","slug":"hard-work-of-waiting","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.christianitytoday.com\/pastors\/content\/hard-work-of-waiting\/","title":{"rendered":"The Hard Work of Waiting"},"content":{"rendered":"

T<\/strong>his presidential election has taught me afresh what children\n\t\t\t\tfeel while waiting for Christmas. Something’s coming. It might be\n\t\t\t\tsomething wonderful. If the old saw about coal and switches is\n\t\t\t\ttrue, it might be something disappointing. Until it comes,\n\t\t\t\tthere’s not much to do but wait.<\/p>

People who lead often resist waiting. Leadership demands action,\n\t\t\t\tand action requires initiative. So that must mean it’s up to the\n\t\t\t\tleader to do something. Right?<\/p>

Yet Scripture often says wait. God tells his people 43 times in\n\t\t\t\tthe Old Testament “wait upon the Lord.”<\/p>

Translators of the ancient Hebrew texts struggle with a word\n\t\t\t\toften translated “wait.” Sometimes they find a better rendering\n\t\t\t\tis “hope.” Consider Isaiah 40:31, translated in the KJV as “those\n\t\t\t\twho wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.” In the NIV,\n\t\t\t\twe read “those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.”<\/p>

The concepts are entwined. Hope is wrapped up in waiting; waiting\n\t\t\t\tis buoyed by hope. It is anticipation controlled by intentional\n\t\t\t\tinactivity, a willingness to allow what is hoped for to come to\n\t\t\t\tmaturity before it is birthed. This is the kind of waiting we see\n\t\t\t\tin the outer office of an obstetrician — joyful, a little\n\t\t\t\tnervous, glad when it’s over, but something that shouldn’t be\n\t\t\t\trushed.<\/p>

For many of us, the hardest part of leadership — like Christmas\n\t\t\t\tand this interminable election — is waiting.<\/p>

But waiting doesn’t mean doing nothing. As Isaiah pointed out, we\n\t\t\t\tare waiting on the Lord. For those who have take-charge\n\t\t\t\ttendencies, the work during waiting is a constant sorting of our\n\t\t\t\tresponsibilities from God’s.<\/p>

We’re waiting on him to take the initiative, while we engage in\n\t\t\t\tthe isometric exercise of pulling our hands away from divine\n\t\t\t\tprerogative.<\/p>

We are Elijah watching the prophets of Baal wail and lash\n\t\t\t\tthemselves before the altar as the day passes. Then, we call on\n\t\t\t\tGod, and at the right moment, he strikes the match, consumes the\n\t\t\t\tsacrifice, and proves again that he is God and we are not.\n\t\t\t\tElijah’s advice: Don’t just do something; stand there.<\/p>

The hard work of leading is letting God take the initiative —\n\t\t\t\tand waiting, and hoping, until he leads.<\/p>

Eric Reed is Managing Editor of Leadership. To reply to Eric,\n\t\t\t\twrite Newsletter@LeadershipJournal.net<\/a>.<\/p>

Sign up for the Church Leader’s Newsletter<\/a> and receive a new article plus useful information in your inbox every week!<\/h2>

Copyright © 2000 by the author or Christianity Today\/Leadership<\/em> Journal.Click here<\/a> for reprint information on Leadership<\/em> Journal.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

This presidential election has taught me afresh what children feel while waiting for Christmas. Something’s coming. It might be something wonderful. If the old saw about coal and switches is true, it might be something disappointing. Until it comes, there’s not much to do but wait.People who lead often resist waiting. Leadership demands action, and Read more…<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":30,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"tax_ctp_authors":[1544],"tax_ctp_books":[],"tax_ctp_categories":[154],"tax_ctp_field_guide_subcategory":[],"tax_ctp_field_guides":[],"tax_ctp_format":[131],"tax_ctp_multimedia":[],"tax_ctp_point_editor":[],"tax_publications":[156],"tax_ctp_tags":[3921,4067,4611,4629,5043,5257],"tax_ctp_topics":[],"class_list":["post-20818","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","tax_ctp_authors-eric-reed","tax_publications-leadership-journal","tax_ctp_tags-experiencing-god","tax_ctp_tags-god","tax_ctp_tags-patience","tax_ctp_tags-perseverance","tax_ctp_tags-spiritual-discipline","tax_ctp_tags-waiting"],"acf":{"scripture_references":null},"yoast_head":"\nThe Hard Work of Waiting - CT Pastors<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"This presidential election has taught me afresh what children feel while waiting for Christmas. 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