Slowly… I have learned that waiting does not have to be a waste of time.

While I wait, I can use my time wisely. In fact I can take the most important opportunity of my life during this time. I can become more intimately acquainted with God.

If you have read any of my entries on waiting, you know I learned to wait by studying the life of King Hezekiah.

His biography in Chronicles and Kings reminds us of his greatness. He clung to the Lord. As I pour over his life, I learn that one of his activities while he waited was to dig deep. He dug deep under the city of Jerusalem channeling water from outside the city to a place inside the city so its citizens had a steady supply of water.

Digging deep, finding springs of living water. That is what my role model, wait trainer King Hezekiah did while he waited.

So I spend my time, while I wait, digging deep, deep into God’s Word.

Lately I am driven by Hosea’s prophecy. I read what God told him to tell the people in Hezekiah’s time and I relate it to me, today, in the United States. What I find, loud and clear is God’s desire for His people to know Him.

Hosea 4:6: “My people are being destroyed because they don’t know me.”

As I sit in God’s Wait Room, I have a choice: either train and grow spiritually stronger or allow my circumstances to destroy me. It is a battle. Sometimes the waits are so heavy, they threaten to crush me.

That does not have to be the case, though! If I spend my time becoming more intimately and deeply acquainted with God, my Father, I will not be destroyed.

So… I read on in Hosea and learn so much about the God of the universe.

First lesson I learn about God I find in Hosea 1:2. He goes to great lengths to show us how much he loves. He uses an illustration that grabs our attention. He says we have acted like a prostitute!

Instead of remaining faithful to our Creator and worshipping Him, we have turned away, focusing on the blessings He showered upon us. Most of chapter 2 lists the gifts God gave us and then points out how we have misused everything He gave us, “the grain, the new wine, the olive oil, silver and gold…” (Hosea 2:8)

I think, “ How do I feel when my gifts to others are not appreaciated?” No wonder God is angry and seeks to discipline me. I need to be taken to His Wait Room where He can get my attention, teach me to grow stronger so I am not swayed and tempted by the world’s ways.

God doesn’t stop by merely calling us names. At the end of chapter 2 He calls out to us:

“But then I will win her back once again. I will lead her into the desert and speak tenderly to her there. I will return her vineyards to her and transform the Valley of Trouble into a gatewy of hope. She will give herself to me there…” (vs 14-15)

God’s Wait Room may seem like a desert, but it is there in that dry and desolate, lonely place where He knows, we will finally listen.

I need to stop and listen to his tender words.

While in God’s Wait Room, I am becoming acquainted with my God.

What have I learned about him as I grow to know him? He wants me to know that He is a husband to me.

What do you know about God?

Be warned, the world's depiction of God does not necesarily agree with The Word's description of God.

So, let’s talk about Him. What is your favorite fact about God? You confidence in Him will only grow stronger if you, not only list His attributes but, site the location in the Bible where you found that portrayal of God to be true.

BTW- Why not begin an exercise with your children! As you read with them from the Bible have them make a list of God’s attributes. What a way to build a child’s confidence!