And
if there’s one thing we cannot avoid in life, it’s waiting.
I
think it’s human nature to dislike waiting, though certainly our
instantaneous-you-can-have-it-now culture and mindsets don’t help. We can watch
movies on demand (no waiting!), order coffee on an app (no waiting!) and cook
with an insta-pot (hardly any waiting!).
We
choose the shortest line, feel frustrated when traffic halts, and want instant
results. Let’s face it: Waiting is hard.
It’s boring. It’s tedious. And it delays the very thing we’re longing for.
At
the beginning of the year we put our house on the market; it’s finally time for
us to downsize. In preparation we scrubbed, gave away literally hundreds of
books, cleaned out closets, and got rid of junk we haven’t used in years. We
pulled weeds, made repairs, and cleaned the windows.
And
then the wait began. I just now calculated that as I write this, our house has currently
been on the market for 78 days, and trust me, it feels like 77 days too long.
Each
of us is probably—at this very moment—waiting for something. We wait for a
marriage proposal, a baby to arrive, test results, news from a loved one, a new
job opportunity, and for a deployed family member to arrive back home safely.
Regularly we wait for the grocery line to shorten, traffic to budge, dinner to
be ready, and a delivery to arrive.
With
all the waiting we endure, we can lead exasperated lives or…we can learn to
wait with grace.
When we’re tempted to panic,
feel frustrated, or grow weary because of the wait, we can instead choose to
remember that:
God is developing His
character in us.
If love is patient, (and God IS love), we are not acting at all like Him when
we feel exasperated by our waiting. Through waiting God tries and proves us,
changes our hearts, and prepares us for what’s ahead. Consider how Joseph was
wrongly imprisoned for 13 years, Abraham waited 25 years for the fulfillment of
God’s promise, and Moses’ long 40 year wait in the backside of a desert prior
to facing off with Pharaoh. Clearly God
uses waiting to accomplish His purposes in us. This fact alone helps me
relax and endure the wait with a better attitude.
God is trustworthy. (He really is.) It’s His
very character, and the more we meditate on His character (try reading the
Psalms!) the more our hearts will be at ease and trust Him. (1 Thessalonians
5:24)
Our times really are in His
hands. We
don’t have to be anxious; God hasn’t forgotten us, He isn’t neglecting us, and
He knows the exact timing of every detail of our lives. (See Psalm 31:15)
God is sovereign. Ultimately His plans and
purposes will come to fruition in our lives—maybe just not on our timeline. (See
Isaiah 46:10)
A Prayer to Wait with Grace
Lord, You know the thing(s)
I am waiting for. Please use this time to develop more of Your character in me.
God, I’m grateful that You are trustworthy and my heart can be at ease and
trust You. I’m thankful that as I wait I can rest assured that my times are in
Your hands, and that You are sovereign and will accomplish all of Your purposes
in and for and through me. Give me grace and peace as I wait, Lord. In the
strong name of Jesus. Amen.
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1 comment:
Once again your Truth-filled post came at exactly the time I needed to hear this word from the LORD. Thank you for your faithfulness to GOD.Sincerely, Terri
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