So Much Waiting!
Who actually enjoys waiting? I know I don’t.
Patience is not one of my gifts. I want things now and I don’t like to wait for them.
- When I am hungry and I go out to eat. I will drive to 3 different restaurants to find one with a short wait time.
- If want to learn a new skill, I better have it perfected overnight!
- At Walmart I will scout every checkout line to figure out the fastest way in and out so I don’t have to wait.
- Friday “traffic” in Punxsy drives me insane. I can’t stand it when I have to wait through more than 1 red light.
- I would rather get a yes or no answer rather than wait.
I know, it’s a problem…but it’s a problem I am working on.
Sometimes God says, “Wait.”
God is always faithful.
There are examples all through scripture that show us when God says wait, there are bigger blessings ahead:
- Abraham and Sarah were in their 90’s before God gave them a child (Genesis 17)
- David waited years after being anointed by Samuel before he actually became king (2 Samuel 2)
- Hannah waited and prayed for years to have a child (1 Samuel 1)
- The Israelites waited 400 years to be set free
God was faithful in each of the circumstances and so many more.
I’m Learning to Trust God “In The Wait.”
Yet when it comes to my life and my story, I often don’t trust God in the wait. I push ahead and try to get where I think I need to be on my own.
But that is not full surrender to God. It’s not trusting that God has a plan and that his plan is better than whatever I come up with to fix it.
I often say that one of my favorite verses in the Bible is Jeremiah 29:11, which says, “’For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” But, do I actually believe this verse if I try to make my own path and ignore God’s answer to wait? Do I believe that God has a plan and He is faithful?
It doesn’t seem like I believe God when my response is, “Well I can just get there on my own and I can do it now.”
Guess what happens every single time I try to “beat” God’s wait with my own timeline? Nothing good. Instead, I feel overwhelmed, anxious, tired, and far from God. I feel like I am out on a little island, alone, with no clue what I am to do.
BUT! When I trust God and I lean into Him during the wait, the more I grow in Him. The season of waiting turns out to be a season of the most growth for me. When that season ends and God provides what I have been waiting for, even if it isn’t what I expected, it is exactly what I needed.
My prayer for both you and I is that we learn to wait. Wait for God’s timing and take that time to connect with Him. Spend time in the word and in prayer so that when the season of waiting is over we are so connected to God that we can move forward with His plan and do what it is He has for us to do.
Isaiah 40:31 says, “…but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”