Why Waiting Hurts

2 Then the Lord answered me and said:

“Write the vision

And make it plain on tablets,

That he may run who reads it.

3 For the vision is yet for an appointed time;

But at the end it will speak, and it will not lie.

Though it tarries, wait for it;

Because it will surely come,

It will not tarry.

4 “Behold the proud,

His soul is not upright in him;

But the just shall live by his faith."

Habakkuk 2:2-4 (NKJV)

Job & 1 Kings

The first two places in the Bible that we see the word châqâh, piercing, is in 1 Kings and Job.  1 Kings 6:35 says, "Then he carved cherubim, palm trees, and open flowers on them, and overlaid them with gold applied evenly on the carved work."  Solomon had beautiful carvings placed in the Temple of the Lord- beautiful works to be displayed for Him.  (Today, we are that temple, a home for the Lord to dwell).  And the second place we see the word piercing is in Job 13:27, "You put my feet in the stocks, And watch closely all my paths. You set a limit for the soles of my feet."  The word for limit is this word: châqâh. 

Have you ever felt like your walk was limited?  Perhaps your actions or life was limited in some way?  Almost as though the Lord has literally put you in stocks to keep you from moving forward into the very place you're needing a breakthrough to happen? 

Job very much felt this way - as though the Lord had put him in stocks and set a limit for the soles of his feet.  He felt as though he was imprisoned in his life.  Let's quickly note that the Lord didn't bring upon calamity to his life, Satan did.  But, the Lord did allow it, and then He abundantly blessed Job double for his trouble at the end of the trial.  Sometimes, the Lord desires to bless us so abundantly that the trial and waiting is necessary to pull out any unworthy characteristics, because He wants us to be wonderful and safe stewards for the blessings He gives us. 

That's where the piercing comes into play.  We are carefully carved and chiseled into fine works that the Lord proudly displays because we are His temple.  We are like carved cherubim, palm trees and open flowers decorating the walls of His kingdom. 

Cherubim, Palm Trees & Open Flowers

Cherubim refers to a particular type of angel and it comes from the verb karabu, to bless, to be mighty.  Cherubim also speaks of praise and worship - they praise and worship God in His temple.  The wings of cherubim cover the Ark of the Covenant in the temple, symbolizing the readiness to do God's will.  This is us.  In the piercing we learn to praise and worship the Lord instead of complain.  In the piercing we come near to the Ark, a picture of the Person and saving work of Christ.  In the piercing we become ready to do God's will.  Amen!

Palm trees speak of longevity of life, fruitfulness, flourishing, and its branches speak of victory.  That's why the palm branches were laid out before Jesus on His way to the cross - there was victory in His death.  So too is there victory in our flesh dying as the Holy Spirit within us comes more and more alive.  The piercing causes parts of our flesh to die, giving life to the Holy Spirit and His ways, His leading and His voice.  There is victory in death.  What's born of the flesh dying is longevity of life and fruitfulness.  The palm is mentioned many times in the Bible in conjunction with being stately, tall and upright (see Psalm 92:12). 

This is what is happening during our time of waiting - we are becoming stately and upright.  While it doesn't seem like it, we are actually becoming extremely fruitful.  Seeds are born in the dirt.  They grow in the cover of darkness, and finally they push through into the light.  But it's still much time that passes before we see that little seedling become a small tree, then a larger tree, and then a tree that bears much fruit.  So too are we like these trees, starting our journey in the cover of darkness where no one knows or sees what is happening, becoming a small tree and then a much larger tree that is able to bear and hold much fruit.  We will eventually flourish like the palm tree, at the appointed time God has for us.

I want you to see what Job said at the very end of the book.  We hear about the first part being preached, "Now the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning..." (Job 42:12) but the Lord opened my eyes to the final verse, "Job lived 140 years after that, living to see four generations of his children and grandchildren. Then he died, an old man who had lived a long, full life."  That's a promise, to die a man or woman who lived a long and full life.  It's one thing to be blessed with much, it's quite another to be able to enjoy the blessings for a long time.  Is it much of a blessing if we die before our time?

In the Strong's Concordance the final verse is written like this: "So Job died, being old and full of days."  Full is translated as satiated, full and satisfied.  While the blessing from God is nice, being able to be completely satisfied with our life and be blessed for a full amount of days is much preferred!

And finally, the open flower is a picture of us with open hands ready to receive all that He has for us.  It's a lovely representation of us being chiseled into a stunning flower that will bear fruit as the Lord diligently watches over us, ready to bless us with the breakthrough and promise at the right time for our harvest.  It might seem as though we are the last to bear fruit compared to those around us.  But don't be discouraged in this!  The Lord knows what He is doing, and He says, "I will hasten my word to perform it."  (Jeremiah 1:11-12)  We don't need to try to perform it ourselves, He will take care of that for us.

This is us dear believer.  Any of us who are in a period of waiting, in a long wait between the flower blossom and the fruit, are given the same promise from God as Jeremiah.  God was saying to Jeremiah, "while sometimes there is a delay, wait for the word I have given because I am faithful to the word I gave."  He gave the same promise to Habakkuk in chapter 2 - letting him know that even if there is a delay, the Lord will not be late on delivering on the promise.  We can be assured that while the promise delays, it is not late in coming through in our lives!

While we wait, we are being carved into lovely cherubim, a stately palm tree, a beautiful flower blossom that will one day bear fruit.  The cherubim is a picture of us being blessed by the Lord when He speaks His good promises over our lives.  It's also a representative of us becoming mighty in His Word, of us drawing near to the Person of Jesus (the Ark), and of our praise and worship that we lift up to the Lord in our waiting.  The palm tree is our character being shaped and formed into a believer with great character, very stately in our presence, but it also represents the victory we have in Christ.  You may think that while you're waiting God is wasting many years of your life - but the Lord is in fact bestowing upon you greater longevity that you may enjoy the blessings to the absolute fullest in the latter days.  And the open flower is us, with open hearts and hands ready to receive from the Lord the promise in our right season of life.

What To Do While We Wait

But what should our response be to the Lord while we wait? 

1 - Be Honest With Him

I will be very honest with you- during my early seasons of waiting I had many days of screaming (mostly in my heart, not often out loud), crying, anguish, turmoil and real heart pain that I attacked the Lord with.  I won't lie to you and pretend like there isn't real evil in my heart.  Guess what the Lord was after while I waited?  That all of these things would be chiseled and carved out of me.  Some of these evil words and intense emotions died a very hard, long, and painful death over a few months or years.  And all the while, the Lord kept on chiseling His masterpiece.  When I look back at some of the very ugly things I have said to the Lord in the secret place of my heart, I know with certainty that I wasn't ready for Him to bless me.  I would never have wanted those ugly areas to come with me into the promised land!

So if this is where you are- in a screaming match with the Lord, cursing His name, my truest and honest suggestion would be to keep giving Him the ugliest parts of yourself.  Don't throw up a veil and hide these areas from Him.  Instead, give Him what you're really thinking and feeling, because it's in this place of true honesty that He will chip away at the filth and evil thoughts.  When we are honest about where we are and what we're feeling, then He can really go to work on us.  If we hide this place, we will never reach the promised land or bear the fruit we wish to.  We can't, because there will be so much hidden in the depths of our hearts that we won't be safe with the blessing He has for us.

Keep being honest.  He will love you through it, dry your tears, and chisel those parts away.  They might die a slow, painful death, but what will be left will be stately character with uprightness of heart.  And your true victory comes when He carefully pierces these areas out of your flesh, leaving behind His marks: kindness, goodness, patience, gentleness and self-control.

2 - Learn To Praise Him In The Storm

Praise and worship is a part of this process.  After the screaming and yelling, when your heart is contrite and you bow your head before Him in repentance for over-reacting and lashing out, this is when we praise Him for loving us and being with us in the pain.  This is when we lift our heads in worship and sing to the Lord who died for us.  This is when we allow His goodness to wash over us while we sing to Him.  And as we do this, the Lord will sing over us too.  Zephaniah 3:17 says, "The LORD your God in your midst, The Mighty One, will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing.”  He is with you in your suffering, He is the One who saves. 

And what you will find is one day you will wake up and there will be no more words of pain and sorrow, of anger and frustration over the situation.  Your promise hasn't come, yet you find praise and worship on your lips for your King of kings.  We can praise Him in the storm.  We can praise Him while we wait.  We can praise Him without the promise at hand - because He has been truly, truly good to us.

3 - Draw Near to Him While You Wait

The Cherubim with their wings stretched over the Ark shows us just how near they are to the Person of Jesus.  In the sacrificial system mentioned in Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and so on, the blood of the lamb had to be sprinkled on the mercy seat which covered the Ark of the Covenant.  The blood then was a picture of the lamb's atoning sacrifice, and the Lord completely overlooking the sins of His people.  At the cross, Jesus' blood was poured out permanently forgiving us of all our sins and allowing us to always be close to the Lord.  No longer is there a veil between us, no longer is there a priest who intercedes for us.  Now we can step into the throne room at any time with only a prayer or a sigh on our lips. 

While you wait, spend that time with Jesus.  Get to know Him personally.  Read the Bible, pray, and talk with Him.  Be as close with Him as you can, as close as the Cherubim were with the Ark.  The best way to spend our waiting time is with Him.  He's the One who comforts us and loves us when we're hurting, and He's the One who gives us joy and peace, gladness of heart and a purpose even if we haven't possessed the promise.  One day the promise will come, and how sweet it will be to celebrate that victory with Jesus, our best friend and confidant.  He likes to be with us in our pain, but He also wants to rejoice with us in our triumphs.

5 - Be Ready, No Matter The Season

But while we're waiting we should be ready in season, and out of season.  2 Timothy 4:2 says, "preach the word! Be ready in season and out of season..."  Although Paul was speaking to Timothy to encourage him while he endured hardship for the gospel of Christ, I believe this applies to every believer as well.  We must be ready in season and out of season.  We should not waste our out of season times while we're waiting for the Lord to move on our behalf.

Paul, of any apostle would know what it meant to suffer for the gospel of Christ.  He had endured every hardship for Him, and then still encouraged others to be ready to preach no matter what season they were in! 

We never know at what point the Lord will say to us, "It's your time!  Go forth!"  And if we have not spent our waiting time wisely we won't be ready to walk into the land!

During the time in which the Israelites left Egypt and crossed the promised land, only 2 men in the entire company of Israel grabbed a hold of the promises of God and believed that what He spoke was true.  That means that during the time since Joshua and Caleb left Egypt, (they would have been slaves!) that they spent their wilderness time taking hold of the promises of God.  They spent the time between slavery and the promised land saying, "The Lord is for me, who shall be against me?"  "The Lord is mighty to save."  "The Lord promised to me that I would walk in the land flowing with milk and honey."  We don't know exactly what they said daily, but by the time they got to the final destination and spied out the land Caleb declared, "Let us go up at once and take possession, for we are well able to overcome it."  (Numbers 13:30)  That's faith!  Caleb spent his wilderness time building himself up in faith!  He spent his time believing that God was faithful to the word He promised!

Spend your time this way.  If you haven't yet, begin building your faith today regarding the Lord's promises to you.  Write down the promise and declare it daily.  This is how we prepare ourselves to be ready for the promise whether we're in season or out of season.  Then when the Lord calls you up for the wilderness and the promise land is at hand, you won't end up back in the wilderness with the rest of the people - you will be able to walk into the land flowing with milk and honey.  You won't live always out of season as an unbelieving fool, you'll be ready to be plucked up in your appointed season because you believed God would be faithful to His word.

Our Response While We Wait Matters!

I believe our response to the Lord while we wait determines how long our waiting process will be.  Not in every case, there are definite promises that we are waiting for and the Lord has appointed a specific time to us, and nothing will hurry along His perfect time for our lives! 

But there are certain times when we are waiting on a promise and our response during it can speed up the waiting time- if we're willing to submit to Him.  If we grab onto the promise and not give fear or unbelief a stronghold.  If we praise instead of complain.  If we allow Him to prepare us to be ready for the promise instead of pushing Him away or hardening our hearts against the chisel.  All of these things will aid in our victory coming sooner than later.  But if we walk away from Him for a time or season instead of being pliable in His hands, or succumb to doubt, or allow bitterness to grip our hearts, then our wait will increase. 

At the end of the day, I trust the Lord to do good for me more than I could ever trust any person, why would I not take Him at His word and believe He will fulfill every promise?  I trust Him to as He said He would.

Lovely believer, the waiting hurts because we're not just watching the clock tick by for days on end.  The waiting hurts because we're being pierced again and again, just as Jesus was pierced for our transgressions.  His hands were pierced, redeeming the works of our hands and our livelihood.  His feet were pierced, redeeming our walk with the Lord, that we can be in communion with Him daily.  What a privilege!  His head was pierced, redeeming every evil thought we have, redeeming every disease and memory problem.  His side was pierced, redeeming the inner most parts of our being.  And His blood was poured out on to the ground, the very ground we come from, so that every single part of us that was made by Him was also redeemed by Him.

We are perfectly, and wonderfully made.  Every part of us.  And Jesus was pierced to redeem every part of us.  So don't despise the chastening of the Lord - for it is to our benefit that He devotes so much time to character development.  You are a masterpiece.  I can't wait to see how God chooses to display you.

With absolute joy,

Jessica



For further listening & reading

1. Chaim Bentorah https://www.chaimbentorah.com/2021/04/hebrew-word-study-almond-tree-%D7%A9%D6%B8%D7%81%D7%A7%D6%B5%D7%93-shaqed/
2. The Lord Was With Joseph, by Scott Pauley https://amzn.to/48ILdRZ
3. The Tension Of Transition, by Craig Cooney https://amzn.to/46CpCZm



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