Friday, February 20, 2009

Waiting Is The Hardest Part

My theme right now is waiting. I am waiting on my house to be done, for the tests to be completed so we can TTC again, and waiting on the economy to turn around so that people will be buying cars again. I have thought a lot about waiting this week while I have sat up at night not feeling well. This poem was in my book, Hannah's Hope. It spoke to me when I read it and it made me think tonight when I read it again.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate...
and the Master so gently said,"Wait."

"Wait? you say wait?" my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!"
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I'm claiming your Word.

My future and all to which I relate
hangs in the balance and you tell me to Wait?
"I'm needing a 'yes', a go-ahead sign.
Or even a 'no,' to which I'll resign.

You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
Lord, I've been asking, and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply.

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
as my Master replied again, "Wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
and grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting...for what?"

He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine...
and He tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.

I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You'd have what you want, but you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint.
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint.

You'd not learn to see through clouds of despair;
you'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there.
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
when darkness and silence are all you can see.

You'd never experience the fullness of love
when the peace of My spirit descends like a dove.
You would know that I give, and I save, for a start,
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
the faith that I give when you walk without sight.
The depth that's beyond getting just what you ask
From an infinite God who makes what you have last.

You'd never know should your pain quickly flee,
what it means that My grace is sufficient for thee.
Yes, your dearest dreams overnight would come true,
but oh, the loss if I lost what I'm doing in you.

So, be silent, my child, and in time you will see
that the greatest of gifts is to truly know me.
And though oft My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still "WAIT".

- Russell Kelfer

8 comments:

Rebecca said...

Thank you I needed that.

Lauren said...

WOW, I loved this!!! Just remember, he's doing something big in the midst of the waiting :o)

Becky said...

Waiting and being still. Are any of us good at that? So often it comes down to 'Do I truly believe that what I believe is truly true?'

Lianna Knight said...

I loved that book and isn't that poem so true????

A Wife and a Teacher said...

I have heard about the book but have not read it yet. I am going to have to get it. Waiting is the hardest part. Sometimes I feel that if I could just get a yes or a no I would feel better. At least I still have hope while waiting! Thank you for shareing!

Faith said...

I love this poem!

Megan L Hutchings said...

What a GREAT poem...so true! Try to remember that while you are waiting God is making preparations for something magical ;)!

Immeasurably More Mama said...

This poem was such an encouragement to me when we were struggling with infertility. God's answer of "wait" truly is a blessing because He can do so much work in our hearts during waiting periods. He turned our waiting into an unexpected blessing...we recieved a 3 day old foster baby who is now one-year-old. We are still waiting for his adoption and God is revealing Himself to us in new ways everyday!