WAIT

This is the poem several of you requested at the Assembly. The author is unknown.

Desperately, helplessly, longingly I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate
And the Master so gently said, "Child, you must wait".
"Wait? You say wait! " my indignant reply.
"Lord, I need answers. I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked and am claiming your Word.
My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance and You tell me to WAIT?
I'm needing a 'yes'—a go-ahead sign
Or even a 'no' to which I can resign.
And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask and we shall receive.
And Lord, I've been asking and this is my cry:
I'm weary of asking! I need a reply!”
Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, "You must wait."
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, "So, I'm waiting.... For what?"
He seemed then to kneel and His eyes wept with mine
And he tenderly said, "I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.
All you seek I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want - But you wouldn't know Me.
You'd not know the depth of My love for each saint
You'd not know the power that I give to the faint
You'd not learn to see through the clouds of despair
You'd not learn to trust just by knowing I'm there
You'd not know the joy of resting in Me
When darkness and silence were all you could see.
You'd never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove
You'd know that I give and I save.... (for a start)
But you'd not know the depth of the beat of My heart;
The glow of My comfort late into the night
The faith that I give when you walk without sight
The depth that's beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God who makes what you have LAST.
You'd never know should your pain quickly flee
What it means that "My grace is sufficient for Thee."
Yes, your dreams for your loved one overnight would come true
But, Oh, the loss! If I lost what I'm doing in you!
So be silent My child and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft' may My answers seem terribly late
My most precious answer of all is still, "WAIT."

I want to say "THANK YOU" to all of you who expressed your love and assured me of your continual prayers for me and my husband. I'm acutely aware of my total dependence upon the Lord and complete lack of sufficiency in my own strength or wisdom. Your prayers touch the throne of God and He is faithful to bless us with strength to stay on the battlefield and endure as "good soldiers." Like the song says, "In the fiercest part of battle, when my feet don't want to stay, I will trust You, Lord." That's my desire.