Waiting
Isn’t life a giant waiting game? As children, we wait to grow up and make our own decisions. As adults the waiting takes over our life. We wait for our dream job, perfect person to marry and have children. We wait in fast-food lines, doctors’ offices, traffic and grocery store lines. Life is merely a series of endless waiting.
Society today has made waiting seem like a disease. We want everything done as quickly as possible. If we have a question, ask Siri, Alexa or search on Google. We no longer have to wait at the grocery store, we have curbside pickup. Waiting at the doctor’s office is becoming less and less as we have telehealth. We do not like silence or when we need to pass some time, scroll on your phone. The world caters to our desires like never before. Is this a good thing?
While society makes every attempt to make our life easier and faster, God works on a very different timetable. In His mind, nothing is wrong with waiting. In fact, waiting can actually be a positive thing. You see, God is rarely early, but is never late and always right on time when we need it the most. The enemy wants us to grow discouraged and lose our focus while we wait. When we do this, we lose our focus on what is truly important and what we are after.
We see example after example of people who find themselves having to wait in the Bible. First, we see Moses in the book of Exodus whom God told, “I’m going to use you to deliver my people and rebuild the nation of Israel.” This sounds great, but Moses then went on a forty-year detour in the wilderness.
We can then look at the apostle Paul. He had a vision and met with Christ. In 1 Corinthians 9:16, Paul is transformed and says, “I’m called to preach. That’s what I’m here to do. That is all. I am compelled to preach the gospel.” And then he waits. Several years pass before that purpose begins. Several years before he gets to preach his very first message.
Waiting is hard. Waiting causes growing pains. During our times of waiting, we may feel stagnant, like nothing is happening, but in reality, God is making things happen without us even knowing. God uses waiting to change us, to guide us to be the disciples He has called us to be.
Our favorite example of rebellion and waiting is the story of Adam and Eve. Adam and Eve believed that God did not have their best interests in mind so they decided to go ahead without God and do what they wanted. They became their own boss with no guiding compass. Is this with society today? When God tells us to wait, we do not trust him and become impatient. We forge ahead and find a way to accomplish what we want to happen without thinking twice about it. This path, in the end, pushes God to the side and often hurts people around us.
We must remind ourselves, “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14). Timing is everything in life and God knows what is best for each one of us. Waiting is difficult to do, but when we do, the result is something far better than we ever imagined possible.
XOXO
Mark and Megan