How To Endure Waiting: HOPE is the Key

Recently, a dear friend, Dr. Tuesday Tate, released her first book titled, "Waiting, Mastering the UnAvoidable". I had the privilege of reading an advanced copy because I did some proofreading for her. The book has literally changed by posture in regard to waiting, whether it be for people or God.

This morning on YouTube, I ran across a video on child kidnappings and the length of their captivity. I began to pray for those (now) adults and for the freedom of those who are now in captivity waiting to be rescued. Waiting...and waiting...and waiting. I then ran across the story of Jaycee Dugard. Kidnapped as a child at the age of 11, she was held captive for 18 years. While in captivity, she was not only beaten and raped but also impregnated by her captor and gave birth twice. I said, "Lord, how do these children survive this? What makes them want to live day after day in captivity?" Holy Spirit said, "Hope."

I began to research the word hope in the bible. The word hope in Hebrew is "tiqvah" (tick-vah') and it literally means "cord or rope". I am now convinced that the most crucial component to waiting is hope (in the Lord). The Bible says, "... Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?" (Romans 8:24) Hope is that one lifeline that allows you to continue on to an anticipated end. Whether it be a blind beggar (Luke 18:35-43), a woman with a blood-related illness for 12 years (Luke 8:43-48), a man who lost his entire family and material wealth (Job), an invalid for 38 years (John 5:1-9) or being wrongly accused and incarcerated for 10 years (Genesis 39). Are you in a place where your cord is small...or frayed...or short in length? Be encouraged! I have good news! It is not the size of the cord or rope that matters, it is the purity and strength of it. It is the "strength" of your Cord that is the key to survival and endurance. So, while you are waiting...while you are in that "in-between place"; in what "Cord" do you put your trust? The Bible says, "Through him we have also obtained access by faith into this grace in which we stand, and we rejoice in hope of the glory of God. Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." (Romans 5:2-5)

How do you endure waiting? The answer is in Psalm 42:5, Psalm 42:11 and Psalm 43:5. All three scriptures simply say, "Why art thou cast down, O my soul? And why art thou disquieted (worried, anxious, agitated, disappointed, upset, angered, unnerved, defensive, unsettled, unsure, apprehensive) within me? Hope thou in God; for I shall yet praise him, Who is the help of my countenance, and my God."

"My hope is built on nothing less, than Jesus' blood and righteousness." by Edward Mote, 1797-1874