Over the last few weeks I have been mentioning to folks that I have this sense that God is going to do something surprising in our midst at SpringHill. I have also said that I normally do not talk in this kind of language because God does not normally speak directly to me in an audible voice. He hasn’t this time but I believe God, through His Spirit has given me a sense of expectancy. This sense of expectancy has led me to explore the difference between watching and waiting.
Let’s begin with waiting. We often use the phrase “waiting on the Lord”. Normally we mean by this that we have asked God for something and waiting for an answer. We pray and we wait. This is a very normal and Biblical posture and spiritual discipline. To be waiting we are looking for guidance, deliverance, some kind of answer from the Lord. In most cases we have an idea what it is we are waiting and hoping for since we have made the request. Waiting, although a verb is a very inactive verb. When I wait for the bus, I am at a specific spot at a specific time just, well, waiting- for the bus. A good example of waiting is found in Acts 1:4 when Jesus commanded the disciples to “wait for the gift my Father has promised…” The disciples knew what they were waiting for; they also knew where to wait for it. Waiting is an important spiritual discipline to be applied in the right situations. As part of your life and in our ministry we should always be seeking God and waiting for Him. Waiting develops patience, dependence and faith in Him.
Now let’s contrast waiting with another Biblical posture and spiritual discipline- “watching”. Watching is also a verb, but it moves down the action scale. It’s not as active as some verbs but more so than waiting. Watching is looking without knowing what we will see or find. This is a key difference between waiting and watching. It’s more active because it’s what we do as we carry on with life. We don’t stop and watch, we are watching as we carry on our work. I enjoy walking and hiking, one of the reasons is that I can watch and see what there is to be seen. When my son Mitch and I spent 5 days on Isle Royale backpacking one of the things that got me through the long hikes with 50 pounds on my back was the expectation I would see something remarkable- a moose, an eagle, fox or other part of God’s creation. I had to walk, but the walking was better when I was also watching. If we were waiting for a moose we would have sat in one spot, but we were on a mission and it required walking which gave us an opportunity to watch. In Mark 14:38 when Jesus was praying in the garden, the disciples fell asleep. Jesus woke them when he came back to them and commanded them to “watch and pray”, not wait and pray but to watch. You might be able to sleep while waiting but you can’t sleep and watch and you certainly can not pray while sleeping. Watching is what we do when we don’t know what to expect but we expect something. It’s where we are surprised by God.
As I have mentioned over the last few weeks that I sense that God will surprise us in a big way some folks have said it may not be just one big thing but many smaller ones. I agree with this which means it’s more important we practice watching. We are in a season where we have the opportunity to see God work in surprising ways, but waiting we may not see them. Watching as we go about our work we will no doubt see the hand of God move SpringHill in ways we could never imagine. God is and will move in this ministry, the question really is will we be watching so we can see His work and by seeing His work we will be able to praise His him and give glory to His name?
Michael
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