Waiting well.

Are you good at that?

There’s a woman called Esther in the bible.

(I have been writing about her a lot lately! Click here to see my previous post.)

Anyway, Queen Esther is on a mission. A mission that could end in her death. She is asking her husband and King to spare the lives of her people: The Jews. The King’s advisor has ordered their death and it’s up to Esther to change this order.

Let me make this clear: Esther is on a time-sensitive mission here.

She needs a result. Quickly.

Lives depend on it.

Yet, when she approaches the King, she does a lot of standing still. A lot of waiting. She prays and fasts for three days before she goes to see him.

He asks her what she wants…

She then feeds the King a fancy dinner.

He asks again: What does she want?

At the meal, King Xerxes speaks again:

“Now what is your petition? It will be given you. And what is your request? Even up to half the kingdom, it will be granted.”

Esther 5:6, NIV.

Yet, Esther still does not make her request known to him. Instead, she asks her King to attend another meal.

This is her moment, yet she doesn’t rush into what she wants.

“If the king regards me with favour and if it pleases the king to grant my petition and fulfil my request, let the king and Haman come tomorrow to the banquet I will prepare for them. Then I will answer the king’s question.”

Esther 5:8, NIV.

In direct contrast to this, there is another man in the bible: Haman.

In Esther’s story, Haman is the King’s advisor.

He is the one that ordered the Jews to be annihilated.

Haman brags about all the money and sons he has… He even brags about being invited to Esther’s meal. Yet, he can’t enjoy what he has when he sees Mordecai the Jew, at the king’s gate:

“But all this gives me no satisfaction as long as I see that Jew Mordecai sitting at the king’s gate.”

Esther 5: 13, NIV.

Haman’s wife responds with an immediate action plan:

His wife Zeresh and all his friends said to him, “Have a pole set up, reaching to a height of fifty cubits, and ask the king in the morning to have Mordecai impaled on it. Then go with the king to the banquet and enjoy yourself.” This suggestion delighted Haman, and he had the pole set up.

Esther 5:14, NIV.

Haman and his wife come up with an immediate plan to get Mordecai killed.

He plans to have Mordecai hung before he goes to Esther’s meal so that he can enjoy the dinner!

Let’s break this down:

He wants instant.

He wants an instant action to happen so that he can relax.

His happiness rests on something external. Esther in contrast to Haman seems composed, not in a rush, controlled.

This makes me think of how I am currently reacting to circumstances in my life.

If I am honest, I can relate to Haman.

(Don’t worry, I don’t want anybody murdered!)

But, I do want my problem to be solved so that I can relax.

Let me be honest with you: I want a problem solved first. THEN… I want to relax.

But this is not the kingdom way. Let’s get this right:

• The way of the kingdom of God is to enjoy our peace, NOW.
• Enjoy God’s presence, NOW.
• Even in the midst of struggle.
• Even with problems right in front of our faces.

 As Christians, we sing about this stuff all of the time. A song we currently sing at church goes like this:

“In the middle of the storm, I still bless you.”

Promises – Maverick City Music.

But, what does it practically look like to enjoy peace and prosperity, even when we are waiting on a miracle?

Some of us need a financial miracle next week, but can we live today as if the miracle happened? Or will the next week be filled with worry?

Some of us want to see a relationship restored. Can we act as though it is done? Can we live as if God has personally visited us and promised us that it will be resolved?

Or will we do a Haman and put in fast plans that are not God’s plans?

You know what I mean. We try and manipulate our circumstances. We make metaphorical “gallows”, like Haman.

Those plans will never give you the peace that Jesus gives you. They will never give you the victory that Jesus gives you.

I have a lot to be grateful for. So many good things in my life at the moment.

But there is an area of my life in which God has set me up to trust in Him. And He is now asking me to act as if the promise has been done.

Practically, what does this look like? I have three responses:

1. Firstly, write down your prayer.

Be so specific. If it’s a prayer for finances then write down all the miracles you are asking for: “Cover these debts, provide for this opportunity etc.”

Again, if the miracle is about a relationship, what do you want to happen?

A healing: What do you want healed? Name the problem in as much detail as you can.

2. Then: write down what it would be like if this prayer were answered.

How would it feel? What would you be able to do that you cannot do now?

Imagine an answered prayer – What would it look like, who would you tell?

You might want to write it as if it were a story. Simply ask this question as a prompt:

What would my life be like if the miracles I have asked for happened today?

3. Act like it’s happened already!

My third and final step is this: Live today as if your miracle has happened.

Some of us need to write this scriblle on a whiteboard:

“Live today as if He has done it. As if the miracle has happened.”

Keep telling yourself that God is going to come through. Keep asking yourself – Would I do this if I believed the miracle would happen?

For instance, I have been worrying a lot lately. But would I worry if my prayers were answered – No way! I need to believe that God will answer those prayers and stop worrying. In fact, if I feel tempted to worry I might even say, out loud:

“I don’t need to worry like this because God has already sorted this problem.”

Get creative – Maybe you need to set reminders on your phone, maybe you need to draw a picture of the miracle and put it next to your kettle. Whatever it takes to remind yourself that you serve a God that absolutely comes through for you. A God that does what He promises.

Some of you will need to stop doing things. Stop checking your bank account every five minutes. Stop Instagram stalking. Stop ruminating.

And some of you need to start doing things. Start getting healthy for when the miracle happens – Maybe it is therapy. When I lost my glasses my husband told me to book in for eye test, get the prescription ready for when the money for the glasses comes in. Act like it is a done deal, basically.

Conclusion

My guess is we all need to practice waiting well. I think Esther was wonderfully composed because she trained herself to trust in God. She waited with wisdom, she trusted his timing and she believed in her success – her actions of fasting and throwing dinner parties show us that she was expecting success. She did not let her emotions get the better of her and she did not try to grab her miracle apart from her God. She did it with Him.

I wonder this week, can we take a small step towards waiting well?

I am excited for you to see what is on the other side of this small change.