Speaker 1: 0:01

Hi and welcome to our podcast Revelation Within On the Go. I'm Heidi Biles-Mepperson, one of your hosts and the owner and lead coach of the RevelationWithinorg ministry.

Speaker 2: 0:13

And I'm Christina Motley, your other host, also a Revelation Within coach and Heidi's partner in all things Revelation Within. We're so happy to invite you to join us for this episode of Revelation Within.

Speaker 1: 0:36

Oh goodness, I have been waiting a long time for this moment. Have you been waiting for this moment? Have you been waiting for this podcast, heidi? Yes, waiting to talk to you, waiting to talk about these things, I'm done waiting.

Speaker 2: 0:51

You know, can you just wait a minute, cause I need to go get a snack.

Speaker 1: 0:57

Seriously, though, christina wants to talk about waiting on the Lord today, so that's what we're going to talk about.

Speaker 2: 1:03

Yes, and.

Speaker 1: 1:04

I just want to get my allergies fixed so I don't sound like I'm sitting in a sandbox breathing sand.

Speaker 2: 1:12

Yeah, you know this is a hard topic for so many of us. I think it's certainly a hard topic for me Waiting on the Lord. It's hard to wait. I don't think we want to wait. Do you want to wait?

Speaker 1: 1:25

No, no, let's move on on the Lord. It's hard to wait.

Speaker 2: 1:27

I don't think we want to wait. Do you want to wait? No, no, let's move on. We want answers right away. But I feel like God has been teaching me so much about waiting on him. You know, I was kind of talking with him about this the other day. When I think about my life, I realize I'm actually waiting all the time. I'm waiting for the light to turn green, I'm waiting for the timer to go off in the kitchen. I'm waiting for the dryer to be done with my clothes. I'm waiting for my daughter at school, I'm waiting for the mail to come. I'm waiting for my turn in the grocery checkout line. Sometimes I'm impatient, of course, but I realize with all of those things and a million others in our lives, if I want the best outcome, I have to wait, like I can't rush those things, I can't make the dryer go faster with that. You know that shirt that I want to wear today, or whatever.

Speaker 2: 2:27

Like if I want the best outcome, I'm going to have to wait.

Speaker 1: 2:31

Yeah, I think of waiting, because I do so much work at my desk every day the computer. I'm waiting on the computer and it's like, okay, it was not that long ago that it took entire buildings to house computers with a fraction of the speed. Now we carry it around in our pockets, right, and anyway, my laptop is definitely aging out, but I'm like waiting for it to save, or waiting for it to load, or waiting. I do a lot of video work and, oh my gosh, I'm like what can I do to be ahead of the curve here so I don't have to replace my computer and wait the extra 22 seconds?

Speaker 2: 3:17

Oh brother, oh, those 22 seconds can drive you crazy. Seriously, right yeah.

Speaker 1: 3:24

Yeah.

Speaker 2: 3:24

Well, especially when you're waiting all day long for those 22 seconds, again and again, and again and again.

Speaker 1: 3:30

It's true.

Speaker 2: 3:31

Yeah, it's so true, and I feel like I don't know. I don't know about you, but I kind of feel like, as a culture, we're becoming more and more impatient.

Speaker 1: 3:41

And it makes sense when you think about it, because I remember back in the day when we didn't have microwave ovens and it took a while to warm up leftovers. Now you can zap it and even that takes too long for some of us. And the fast food you know we get impatient when we have to wait more than five minutes for fast food. This isn't fast. What are you talking about? What?

Speaker 2: 4:05

Yeah, I think about all the things we do on our phones, now our smartphones. Everybody has a smartphone and how it's like. Well, I need to see my bank account and then it's a little slow, or, you know, the bank account app says we're having trouble, We'll be right back, or something.

Speaker 1: 4:22

Oh, that happened to me yesterday having trouble. We'll be right back or something.

Speaker 2: 4:26

Oh, that happened to me yesterday, yes, and it's like we used to have to drive all the way over to the bank to deposit our you know paycheck or whatever, and I mean we're so spoiled now.

Speaker 1: 4:38

Yeah, for me. I was going to transfer money from my business account to my savings account and it said we're sorry, something went wrong with this and I'm like I've been trying for two months, but it's true, in the old days, to transfer money from place to place in your own bank accounts, even you had to drive in your car to the bank and go inside and talk to at least a teller. So, yeah, it's so interesting.

Speaker 1: 5:04

I think, think about it Our attention spans. Now, I've done a lot of research on this because of the advertising, I do Four seconds, four seconds. If you don't grab somebody's attention within the first four seconds, they're history. They're going to scroll on.

Speaker 2: 5:22

Oh, four seconds. Four seconds, that's crazy.

Speaker 1: 5:26

I know.

Speaker 2: 5:27

Oh, one more example. So I realized yesterday oh my gosh, we're out of laundry detergent, we're out of dog food. Today, oh no. And David, my husband, says to me if you get on Amazon right now, they'll deliver it the same day. I was just like what that's a good idea. I better check, yes, and so I went ahead and ordered this one.

Speaker 1: 5:51

Hold on a minute while I look.

Speaker 2: 5:52

Yeah, Okay, Well, I'll wait for you, Heidi. Anyway, it's kind of an interesting thing that's happening in our culture for sure. So there's a part of me that's realizing that there's an art to waiting, and I'm noticing that older people and I know that I'm older people to the teenagers in my house, but I mean, like you know, people in their sunset years especially they're more at peace with waiting, and maybe that's because they were around for so many years without smartphones and without microwaves and without hair dryers and clothing dryers and all those things. But maybe they're just they've kind of figured something out. You know, I just noticed that.

Speaker 2: 6:41

I'm thinking, for example, of my neighbor next door who I just adore, and she's in her eighties and waiting for her is just it's very natural. It's very normal and she's at peace with it most of the time not all the time, but most of the time. I feel like she actually embraces it as an important part of her life because she knows the outcome will be worth it. It's almost as if she's rushed things so many times over the years that she's learned that waiting well is the best way. Waiting well, I don't know Any thoughts on that, Heidi.

Speaker 1: 7:20

Yes, yes, I think the idea in waiting well has to have something to do with it isn't as passive as we tend to think of it. You know, like I think of verses and I know we're going to get to some scriptures here in a minute but, like in Isaiah 40, where we talk about those who wait on, the Lord will renew their strength, they will mount up with wings like eagles. That doesn't sound very passive, and I wonder if it's the passive waiting that makes us crazy. It's like when we are waiting for something to happen to us, or for us, or in us, that drives us a little bit more bonkers than I like to do something while I'm waiting, you know. So like get on my phone and get that dog food. Well, I just did order.

Speaker 2: 8:15

Well, that wasn't a very long wait at all. No, I think, oh, I think that that's a really a really interesting thought is like how do we wait? What are we passive or are we active? And if we are active, what are we doing? What helps us in the waiting?

Speaker 2: 8:34

So I've been thinking a lot about waiting on the Lord and how challenging it can be. And what I know about myself is I have to practice, like I have to actually practice. It doesn't come naturally. What comes naturally is being impatient that's what comes naturally and wanting things faster and sooner, and I want the answer. God, can you give me that answer, like today? Can we figure this out? It's something I have to work on again and again, and again, and I noticed that as I practice, I become more at peace with it because I absolutely love the outcome. But what you said, heidi, I think is so important, is what are we doing in the waiting? And, of course, those of you who have listened to us for any amount of time, you know what we're going to say. We're going to say we need to be renewing our minds in the waiting and thinking God's thoughts after him. So, and then what I noticed too over time. When I do this well waiting on the Lord builds humility and peace and joy in me.

Speaker 2: 9:43

It does, it turns my heart away from myself and causes me to focus on Christ. It builds my faith and my trust in him. Waiting on the Lord keeps me focused on gratitude toward the one who does everything for me and loves me the most. And as I wait on the Lord, intimacy builds between us. Now, I'm not saying this is easy. I'm not saying that it's easy, but this is what I notice when I wait. Well, I love the way it feels and over time, it becomes easier and easier to submit, because I've practiced.

Speaker 1: 11:35

Well, I don't know what you're talking about. Practiced, well, I don't know what you're talking about. No, I was like I keep thinking as we're talking about this wait a minute. God exists outside of time and space. What does he know about waiting? Because it's like the Lord of days is a thousand years and a thousand years is a day, and I don't know that he gets why it's so hard for us to wait, for me to wait, anyway, I'm just sort of kidding about that, but I know that I really have an issue with this, a big issue with with the waiting. And when I'm in a really good place and I haven't felt like I've had to wait a lot, I can be more patient about the whole idea. And he does teach me through it. You know I keep thinking, and I don't know I may be preempting all your great Bible verses, but I think about how Martha and Mary sent for Jesus when Lazarus was sick and Jesus stayed in the place where he was.

Speaker 1: 12:35

He didn't move for four days. And I'm like Lord, do you have any idea how hard that was for them? So I guess sometimes God is quiet in the waiting because he wants to be my peace. He wants me to experience his joy of his presence. So waiting on the Lord is a gift for me, but I think it's also a gift for him. You know what are God's thoughts about waiting. Like you said, I can renew my mind about it by saying Lord, what are your thoughts about waiting? You know I mentioned Isaiah 40, 31,. Those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings like eagles. They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint. I mean, when you look at the contrasts here having renewed strength instead of weakness, having the ability to fly like an eagle instead of whatever, the alternative would be running and not being weary, walking and not feigning. If that's what waiting for the Lord brings me, then why wouldn't I want to do that? Do I like the alternative? Oh, no, not at all.

Speaker 2: 13:50

Well, heidi, I love what you said about waiting being a gift to us, but maybe it's also a gift to God, and I love that idea and of course, we are going to get into some scripture and you read that one in Isaiah.

Speaker 2: 14:04

So why would that be a gift to God? Why would it be a gift for us to wait on him? I'm just thinking about, you know, what we know about God and his character, and what is important to him is us and our hearts and our minds and our lives and every detail. And he loves to interact with us. I mean, you can see it all over his word he loves to interact, he actually waits to show us compassion. What verse is that? Somewhere in Isaiah? Okay, and so that actually helps me in the waiting is to think of him spending time with me and I'm depending on him more and more and we're interacting and we're getting closer. God and I Like that feels good, I like thinking about that. That helps me.

Speaker 2: 14:57

Okay, here's another verse, Psalm 26, 14. Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart take courage. Wait for the Lord. And really all over Psalms it says wait for the Lord. It's all over the place, and in this one verse it says it twice.

Speaker 1: 15:15

I think it's cool how it's like a sandwich Wait for the Lord, wait for the Lord at the end and in between. You're going to be strong and you're going to have courage, I think that's cool.

Speaker 2: 15:26

I like the way this is written because it says let your heart take courage, which means it's my choice whether I can take the courage or not. You know I can drown in fear, which I have, you know, done many times. I can drown in anxious thoughts, or I can let my heart take courage by waiting on God. I can do that, I can choose that. It's something that I can step forward and do on my own.

Speaker 1: 15:55

I think renewing our mind about the weight is going to have to be a part of it.

Speaker 1: 16:00

For me, it's like I remain skeptical, which tells me that my thoughts are not God's thoughts, because God has told us his thoughts right here in these scriptures and elsewhere. And if I want to really buy that waiting is good and a gift to me and to God, then I'm going to have to tell myself his truth again and again and again about the weight. God, then I'm going to have to tell myself his truth again and again and again about the weight. And so when I catch myself being impatient with any weight and there's a lot of them in my life right now I can remind myself okay, god says this is good, this is a gift, this is a chance to draw closer to him, to be embraced by his peace and his joy. And as I think his thoughts about the weight, I will begin to believe what he says is true about the weight, and then I will be acting on that, and that means I'm going to wait. Well, like you were saying at the beginning, yeah, I love that.

Speaker 2: 16:57

In fact, wouldn't this be a great opportunity to write a truth list about waiting? It could even just have a few truths, but you know, in those times when we're waiting and we're frustrated and we're impatient and you know feeling anxious about waiting, we could pull that out and know what is good and what is true about waiting. For example, you know my intimacy with the Lord is increasing as I wait on him. You know my intimacy with the Lord is increasing as I wait on him. You know that's one of them. I can choose courage as I wait on him.

Speaker 1: 17:31

Well, we've got more great truth from God's word directly here. This is Psalm 23, verses 30 to 32. Our soul waits for the Lord. He is our help and our shield, for our heart is glad in him because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, oh Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. Oh, this is beautiful. It's interesting.

Speaker 1: 17:58

The first thing that strikes me about this verse is there's some sense of community there. Our soul, our plural soul, singular. That's interesting. So I have to think this is intended to be spoken in community with others. Our soul does wait for the Lord together. He is our help, he is our shield, and our heart, singular, is glad in him because we trust in his holy name. I love that. The rest of the verse is also kind of in community, but then he switches to a prayer Let your steadfast love, o Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. So he starts off with this is what we do. We choose to do this. Our soul waits for the Lord, our heart is glad in him. These are choices we have. We trust in his name. I love that. I love that it's clear that God calls us to choose to wait and experience his help, his protection and his joy, really, and his love.

Speaker 2: 19:07

Yeah, I love it too. I thought this verse I mean the whole focus, of course is on God and what he can do not, okay, pull yourself up or do these three steps while you're waiting, or and don't eat.

Speaker 1: 19:25

I really think this is one of the main reasons why a lot of us struggle with eating. We are bored and we don't like the weight. The weight is uncomfortable, and so we want to self-soothe, and so I can't tell you how many times. Well, I know you have the same experience. People that we coach and tell us it's I'm just bored. I think there's more to it than that. I think there's avoidance, but it's like if I'm waiting for something, well, then I want an upgrade, and so it definitely connects with what a lot of our people struggle with.

Speaker 2: 19:56

Well, it's like we want to fill in the space, we want to fill in the gap of the waiting with something that comforts us or that feels better or that's going to, like you said, upgrade. I think that's so valid, yeah, and we'll say, well, I'm bored or I'm being rebellious, but really we are uncomfortable in the waiting and we're wondering what the answer will be.

Speaker 2: 20:22

I mean some of the things lately that have been really hard for me in waiting for a doctor's appointment, the outcome of a doctor's appointment. Waiting for my daughter to text me from across the world when I know that she's sick. Waiting to feel better when I'm not feeling well. Waiting to have the money to be able to pay the bills. Waiting. There's so much that's unknown and that we struggle with.

Speaker 1: 20:50

I got a true confession here. I am married to a man, Michael, who is a very intentional thinker and he doesn't respond to questions. I do not handle that well.

Speaker 2: 21:10

You're waiting for his answer. Yes, yes.

Speaker 1: 21:13

But it's like I could be practicing a any of my waiting and the waiting on the Lord by waiting on Michael a little bit better. Oh my gosh, I mean I can't tell you. It's like, okay, I don't know if you're ignoring me if you don't answer me. I don't know if you're mad about something if you're ignoring me, or if you are thinking about something. If you're ignoring me, or maybe you didn't hear me, there's at least four reasons you might not be responding to me. So I could practice being patient, being, you know, waiting well for a husband who is not quick to speak. He's a biblical Christian, he's slow to speak.

Speaker 2: 21:55

Yeah, he is slow to speak. He is, you know. I mean, I've waited on him. So let's go to Isaiah 30, 18. And I love this one so much too. Therefore, the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all those who wait for him.

Speaker 1: 22:26

Wait. What Blessed are all those Wait, wait.

Speaker 2: 22:30

Wait, stop everything. This is talking about God waiting. God waits to show and we know you know also to show compassion, to be gracious. So he's actually waiting to show mercy to us as well, and I think that's very beautiful. God doesn't have to wait. He doesn't have to wait on anyone or anything. He can do absolutely anything. He can do anything he wants, but he waits to be gracious, and I think what he's waiting for is for me to turn and to listen. I think that's what he's waiting for because I am so distracted and I'm running around in circles, you know, like the Tasmanian devil, Do you remember?

Speaker 1: 23:16

him, I do.

Speaker 2: 23:17

That's a, that's a cartoon character, in case anyone doesn't know. And he would just spin and spin, and spin and spin and you couldn't even see his body. He was just like a little tornado. And sometimes I feel that way. I'm spinning and spinning and spinning and I'm running here and running there, whether it's physically, or sometimes I'm just running around in my mind.

Speaker 2: 23:40

whether it's physically, or sometimes I'm just running around in my mind and God is waiting for me to stop, to wait on him, to fix my eyes on him, and then he shows me his compassion, his graciousness, his mercy, and I'm so blessed. It says blessed are all those who wait for him. I mean, I want to be right there.

Speaker 2: 24:04

I do. That sounds so good, doesn't it? Yeah? So how do we do that? How do we do that? Okay, well, this is just a small sampling of verses in the Bible.

Speaker 2: 24:14

If this is something that's really hitting your heart today, I would love to encourage you to get in the word and do some searches that have to do with waiting and, you know, being sustained and comforted and provided for, but also that wait, you know. Go in there and find some more, because, boy, it's good stuff, okay. So how do we do this? How do we cultivate and grow a life-giving rhythm of waiting on the Lord? So, heidi and I have a list of some practical ways that have helped us and that might be helpful for you as well, because I don't know about you, but sometimes when I'm, you know, listening to someone talk about something that's really hitting my heart, I want them to say here's something you can do. You know, like, here's a practical step you can take instead of just get better at it and we'll talk to you next week, right, okay? So go wait on the Lord and we'll see you later. So these are some practical ways that you could try today, and each one is like a minute or two long.

Speaker 1: 25:21

Okay, the first one close your eyes. You can press pause right now or after I say the sentence. You can close your eyes and listen to a worship song, or even a part of a worship song, and just quiet yourself and be still before the Lord. Invite him into that moment and wait on him even after the song ends.

Speaker 2: 25:49

Yeah, I love that one. That's a great way to just kind of enter into that stillness, that waiting, that peaceful waiting. Okay, so that's one. Here's another one Sit outside or walk outside, listen to the sounds of nature for a few minutes and then be still after for a minute or two, just wait on him. So for me, I know some of the sounds. You know it's kind of breezy out. There's going to be sounds of the leaves rustling in the breeze and then we've got these crazy squirrels out front that keeps running around the trees and chasing each other. They're so cute. But just listening to those sounds and then entering into stillness, waiting on him, that's beautiful.

Speaker 1: 26:38

A third idea is you could just open your Bible and read a verse or write it out longhand from the Bible. Just write it out and pay attention to what you're writing. Be still after you've done that and just wait on him again inviting him into it.

Speaker 2: 26:57

Well, and you might want to use one of the verses that we shared today, or just a part, maybe just a phrase. You know that works too. Okay, here's another one Prepare a meal, thank God for it, and then just spend a minute or two waiting before you start eating. Invite God in to that time, just wait for a minute, you know, fill your heart and soul with gratitude and just spend a minute. For those of us that struggle with food and eating and struggle with, you know, eating fast and not being present with our food, this is a great way to begin a meal and wait on the Lord. The same time.

Speaker 1: 27:39

The fifth one is to eat a meal from that place of physical hunger, to satisfaction, physically, and thanking him for the meal, as you do, and then be still for a minute or two before putting the dishes away or washing up or cleaning up Again, inviting him into this whole process, slowing down, you know, just being mindful that he is there with you in that meal.

Speaker 2: 28:06

Okay, number six. Here's another one. So a phone call or text comes in and rather than quick, quick, I have to respond right away, hurry, hurry, hurry. Instead of that inviting God in before you respond and sitting quiet for maybe just a minute as you wait on him, that is so helpful. I found that so helpful in practicing waiting on him, and the response to that phone call or text is going to be much, much different after having that time with the Lord, even just a minute or two.

Speaker 1: 28:41

So here's another idea. Number seven choose a scripture or perhaps a big T truth that God has given you and use it as a breath prayer. And I find breath praying is just so helpful for calming my heart, calming my mind, and, you know, physiologically it does. It has a wonderful impact on our bodies and our minds. So then, after you use it as a breath prayer, be still and then just wait on the Lord and thank him for your breath, thank him for the time you've had. It could just be a really wonderful way of connecting with the Lord. Yes, okay, here's one more. And there's many, many, many ways way of connecting with the Lord.

Speaker 2: 29:20

Yes. Okay, here's one more, and there's many, many, many ways to practice waiting on the Lord. These are just a few ideas. So go to work or the store or the post office or anywhere you would normally go, but instead of jumping out of the car and running in, like you normally would be still in the car with the Lord for a minute or two first, or when you get back. I'll often do this when I'm going to the grocery store. I'll just, you know, use the car as my little office with the Lord and I can just have a sweet time of a couple of minutes with him, renewing my mind and then just being quiet. Him renewing my mind and then just being quiet, just being still with him, waiting on him. And these are often the times when he gives me his thoughts. Sometimes it's just quiet and peaceful, and other times he'll give me thoughts about something else, something different that's going on in my life, but I'm quiet enough to hear it because I'm waiting on him.

Speaker 1: 30:22

So really, as we think about building our abilities and willingness really to wait on the Lord, it strikes me that most everything I can do about it is to be intentional, be intentional to use those moments when I might be waiting and rejoice in that Rejoice that I can wait, connect with the Lord, rejoice in quieting my soul, rejoice that I can connect with Him in every moment and be willing to just take a little bit it could be even just 30 seconds, you know, doing a breath prayer before I go on to the next task in my workday. Whatever it might be, I think being intentional to okay, this is an opportunity to wait an opportunity to wait.

Speaker 1: 31:12

Well, certainly, you know, god would love for us to learn how to do this well, since he's calling us to do it so much learn how to do this well, since he's calling us to do it so much.

Speaker 2: 31:24

Oh, I love what you said about being intentional, because otherwise it's just not going to happen. I know it's not for me, so I do love that and I'm just going to be honest. You know, the last couple of days I've really struggled with the pull to food again, I know what it's about. I'm dealing with some pretty deep emotional stuff right now. I know what it's about. I'm dealing with some pretty deep emotional stuff right now. I know what it's about.

Speaker 2: 31:49

And so I went to the Lord late last night and we kind of made an agreement that today, when that pull comes, I'm going to go meet with him, and we decided on a chair outside in the sunshine. It's going to be beautiful day, just really mild, lovely weather today. If it wasn't, I could do something else. You know, sometimes I just go sit in my car if my house is really busy and I can't find privacy. But this isn't long. I'm not talking about long, I'm just talking about a couple of minutes connecting with him, checking in. How am I doing? What am I feeling? Waiting on him rather than going to a counterfeit comfort. Well, we are so glad that you've been here with us today. We hope that something that we've shared resonated with your heart in some way, and we would love, love, love for you to join us for our next episode of Revelation Within on the go. Bye-bye, see you next time.