Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!

Psalm‬ ‭27‬:‭14

I’ve got a problem with waiting.

Not the idea, just the execution.

Inaction feels like concession and pausing feels like giving up. I do not usually equate waiting with productivity.

But oftentimes, doing nothing is exactly what I need to be doing.

It can be tempting when we get clean to admit our troubles and then immediately turn our attention to carrying the message to others.

Trouble is, we rarely have much of a message to carry at this early point. We’ve barely wrapped our head around our own problem, much less delved deeply into the long-term solution.

Here is the area where waiting is most effective. It doesn’t necessarily mean do nothing, either. But we must not jump ahead of ourselves—chasing every passing thought that pops in front of us.

We wait for God to do his work in us. We wait in obedience. And we do take action—the steps that are in front of us next—to prepare us.

If we’ve fully conceded to the first step, taken refuge in the second and given our pledge in the third, this will come as no surprise. We are making an effort (sometimes the first) to be led by Him and to put our own way aside.

This does not come easy. The waiting feels awkward. The desire to take control of our own lives presses in despite the glaring failures that our guidance has led us into.

We are left with the moment in front of us. We are left with the daily choice to surrender not only our addiction but our will and our lives to the care of God.

God, show me how to wait patiently for you.