Waiting

I feel like my life has become a perpetual state of waiting. 

Whether it's waiting for the Lord to reveal the next steps for us in ministry or family, I feel as though I have become a professional waiter. Wait for God's leading. Wait for God's timing. Wait for the test results. Wait for God to reveal His plan. Wait for a baby. Wait for God to provide. Wait for a cure. Wait for an answer to prayer. Wait for the job offer. Wait to hear His voice.

Some days, it feels like all I do is wait. 

And quite frankly, I'm not so great at it. I am super impatient, and I get so sick of waiting. Waiting can be hard, annoying, frustrating, stressful, exhausting. Who has the time to wait?? I want what I want, and I want it now  :) 

But waiting is just a part of life and particularly, by God's design, the life of a believer. Our biblical forefathers only knew waiting, as they waited in patient hope for the Messiah. And even after Jesus came, the church now waits with eager expectation for His return. I think that waiting a few months or years is difficult; I can't imagine waiting decades and centuries!

It's in waiting that we learn a dependency on the Lord, an appreciation for His perfect plan, and a maturing of our faith. And praise Jesus that He doesn't give me everything that I want now. If I was always given what I wanted in the moment, I would have missed out on either a) something better altogether, or b) the intimacy with the Lord that develops in times of waiting. 

As a follower of Jesus, I will be asked to wait on the Lord throughout my life, and I should be grateful for the times He asks me to wait. Because the wait time is not purposeless. The Lord means to use every second of my wait to draw me closer to Him. It's way too easy to focus my attention on the thing for which I am waiting, rather than focusing my attention on Him. Am I really waiting on the Lord {truly seeking to understand Him more fully, know Him more deeply}, or am I just waiting for the thing He can give me? 

So while I am terrible not always good at it, I am learning the value of waiting. In it, I am learning to put my trust in Him, putting to the test whether I truly believe Him at His word. Waiting reminds me that He is in control {and I most certainly am not!}. My impatience shows me that He is working to root out self-reliance and instead focus my faith and hope in Him. Waiting also gives God time to work; there's more that He is doing than I can see right now. It helps build my perseverance, character, and faith. And my waiting is a precious reminder of God's patience and long-suffering toward me.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!" - Psalm 27:14  

"I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry." - Psalm 40:1

"Be still, and know that I am God." - Psalm 46:10 

"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken." - Psalm 62:5-6 

"...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." - Isaiah 40:31

"The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord." - Lamentations 3:25-26 

We may not ever know the specific reason we have to wait, but I am so thankful that He never asks us to wait without Him.