I read somewhere that true patience is shown when you are confronted with slow WiFi. How true is that! When waiting, it is difficult to persevere with a good attitude.
Waiting is a life truth, though not always enjoyable. Is there anyone of you who LIKE to wait? Maybe you are feeling like God has forgotten about you? Or are you in need of a guarantee that the waiting will end in THIS lifetime?
Sitting and waiting may seem inactive but sitting and observing is still a verb – it is an action, although if feels like an inactivity. Waiting can be maddening and it can be a painful process. I have experienced it yet again this week, even in the small things, like waiting for the electricity to be restored after load-shedding.
There are a few things we may be waiting on:
· Direction
· A spouse
· A baby/babies
· A job
· Healing
· Answers
· Justice
· Financial breakthrough
Less serious waits include:
· queues in banks
· traffic jams
· the doctor’s waiting room
· bus stops
· new releases of technology and games
· new editions of books
The fact is that we all must wait some time in our lives. Waiting on the above-mentioned (more serious stuff), can be extremely frustrating, time consuming and may become an idol. The weight of the wait may become unbearable and then you try everything to make it happen. While focusing on these things, you may miss out on other blessings coming your way.
Wouldn’t it be nice if God could pay us a visit, sit with us around the table, give us His promise and His plan for our lives? The date of fulfilment? Then we can put a calendar on the fridge, tick off the boxes of all the days until we can see that our waiting days are almost over. Or God saying: “Hold on, it is coming soon.” While languishing in hardships, when things seem to go from bad to worse, His visit would be awesome. Waiting tests our faith, we get discouraged and wonder if God really cares.
When things don’t happen on our timetable, we think we are waiting the wrong way. Use your time wisely when waiting. I know that waiting is not easy, but I’ve also learned that there are things you can do to wait well:
· Read the Bible and put your hope in His Word. It will help you to get into the right frame of mind to face the day’s trials. The Bible has a lot to offer on this topic.
· Pray - Talk to God, cry, beg or thank him. But TALK. Don’t stop. Just because you are not seeing things on stage, it does not mean that there is nothing going on backstage. This can be the preparation phase.
· Play it as it lies. Play with what you have. As unthinkable as it may seem to you, you are exactly where you should be at this very moment. Trust and know that in periods of waiting, it is revealed where we are placing our trust.
· Rest in God’s presence. Don’t strive. (Psalm 46: 10). Wait with expectation. Resist fretting and refrain from getting angry. (Psalm 37: 7, 8). Temper tantrums won’t do the trick. Know that you are on training ground.
· Believe – Rom 8: 32 “He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?” THIS is our guarantee.
· Remember the times when God did answer your prayers - when He did what He had promised. Gain encouragement from Bible stories. Grab your child’s Bible, read to your child, and remind yourself that He is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow. All Scripture is useful for teaching us. Sometimes He answers in ways we did not anticipate. And sometimes He answers us without even praying – THAT is how great He is. Remember that the best is yet to come.
· Be thankful. Focus on the goodness of God, rather than complaining and grumbling about not receiving immediate contentment. Focus on God and not the desire.
· Die to yourself - God’s will, not my will.
Why does God make us wait? A simple truth: It is beneficial to us:
· Waiting helps us to focus on the purpose and cultivates good fruit in our lives such as perseverance and patience. Growing in patience almost always involves waiting.
· Perhaps you’re waiting because the gift God wants to give you is too good to be made in the microwave. Waiting is a prerequisite to anything significant. He wants to bless you beyond your imagination (Ephesians 3: 20)
What happens when we don’t wait on God?
We end up with the consequences that hurt or nag us in the end. Impulsivity can cost us dearly. Ask King David about the time beautiful Bathsheba bathed in front his eyes. The Lord knows what is best for us and that’s why he wants us to wait for His appointed time to make things happen. Don’t try and run ahead of God. The first step you give, will be a step out of His will. And do not think you can “help” Him a little. With my type A personality, sitting and waiting is a sin. Maybe a few of my blessings were delayed or denied.
By taking matters into our own hands, we bring pain to ourselves and others. Experience tells us that all great things happen to those who wait. The other day I was preparing food. It took a while longer than I anticipated and I switched the plate on HIGH. The food was done a few seconds earlier, but not at all that tasty and some of it was stuck in black at the bottom of the pan. (Note to self: learn to wait a while)
From Genesis to Revelations, we are taught about waiting. In fact, the word “wait” is repeated 154 times in the King James Version. It starts off by waiting for the Messiah to come and it ends with waiting for Him to come back. I have realized that the question is not ‘Are we waiting for Him?’, but rather ‘How are we waiting for Him?’
We should wait for God’s promise to come to pass. Timing is everything. His timing is better than ours.
Be a waiter.
Then…just wait and see…
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