What the Hebrew meaning of ‘wait’ taught me about waiting

What does the word ‘wait’ evoke in you? ‘Pure boredom,’ I think. But before I get ahead of myself, I better define what exactly ‘to wait’ truly means. I asked my counsellor what she thought waiting means. Her insight radically shifted my thinking.

She told me that, in Hebrew, ‘to wait’ means ‘to entwine’. Waiting is no longer about a future happening. Instead, it is an active, present state. The question then changes to how do I entwine well?

Could it be that we grab hold of the present God who is here with me now? This is interesting to me because it helps me realise that I am not sitting idly whilst time passes by. Instead, I am invited into syncing with God. I get to move in harmony with him. When he stops, I stop. When he moves, I move.

 I get to move in harmony with him. When he stops, I stop. When he moves, I move.

Practically, how does this look? How do I know when to run? How do I know when to be still? I am looking for a clearer perspective. I am looking for guidance from him right now.

In my experience, this comes through active surrender. I have seven things I surrender daily. One of them is my body-image. I want to accept how I am made and not let it dictate how I approach life. Since doing so, I can definitely vouch for a greater freedom. It helps me entwine with him. I take off my lens of what is good. I put on his lens, which actually determines what is good. Consequently, I am liberated. I can feel content in this moment.

This is deeply hopeful. There is satisfaction in the now because God is here with me in the now.

In my waiting for a job and my 12-year-old dream of marriage to be realised

In my waiting for a job and my 12-year-old dream of marriage to be realised, I shift my focus to his stance on the matter. It’s a funny thing because “where there is no vision, the people perish,” (Proverbs 29:18). It is clear that we need future dreams. The contrary is also true. We need to focus on the now rather than tomorrow: “Therefore do not be anxious about tomorrow…” (Matthew 6:34). Where do these two truths meet? Perhaps, they meet in the middle. The very same tension that makes God the perfect balance between justice and mercy.

To wait does not eliminate the thought of the future. Instead, it invites me into imagining my future with him. A future that is entwined with him because it is crafted with him. No longer does my future have to compete with my present. A future that enables me to focus too, on this very moment.

I have personally found that detaching myself from outcomes is another secret to entwining myself well.

To yearn and seek a job is a good thing. It, however, becomes dangerous if I rely on this circumstance to fulfil me. It can’t, yet sometimes I live as if it can. So, instead, I accept the now in all that it is. I reframe the outcome to be a blessing rather than a necessary ingredient to my contentment. In this way, I detach from the outcome fulfilling me.

Accepting the now? What does this evoke in you? Slightly defeatist and dull?

I thought the same until my friend sent me another translation of the Hebrew word ‘to wait’. In another context, it means: ‘to dance, to twirl’.

Side note: it seems to me that having community is key. They encourage your entwinement to him and themselves. They can dance and twirl with you. What a present blessing.

I love this meaning because I feel that it gives us practical insight into how to be in those phases that feel like limbo. These phases are usually only classified as in-between by a worldly worldview. They are infused with meaning when we look to Him, prayerfully and with gratitude.

When we dance or when we twirl, we tend to be focused on the creative potential of the moment. I focus on the way in which the now has space and form.

I move freely. I move in sync. I explore.

While I wait for my job, I get to dance with the written word, swim in the sea, and discover new worlds in fiction.

While I wait to be married, I get to twirl in the delights of the dating phase, discover the beauty of solitude and revel in his presence.

So, whatever is front of you in this moment is an invitation to dance and twirl with him and those around you.

Move in prayer. Move in delight. Move in gratitude.

Follow his lead.