Still Waiting
Do you hate to wait, for anything? Exactly…we live in an instant everything society. We have microwaves, high speed internet (because god forbid it’s slow) the fast lane on the highway, instant pictures from our phone, no more having to get them developed, and the ever amazing DVR…we don’t even have to sit through commercials anymore!
But have you noticed God is not aware of this tendency we humans have of not wanting to wait? Seems he is clueless about that one. If you haven’t noticed he’s in absolutely no hurry…about anything. He doesn’t operate “in time” so he doesn’t need to hurry. When he says our answer is coming soon, don’t get you’re hopes up, his soon and our soon are not even in the same universe.
All the way back to the garden when he promised Adam and Eve he would send a Savior to fix what their sin caused, it was 4000 years before he showed up. That is a very long time to us but not to God. In the book of Zechariah the Messiah was prophesied again. It was 520 years after that before Jesus was born. Why so long, why the wait…why why why??
When God promised Abraham a son…20 years went by before Isaac came. When Joseph dreamed of ruling over his family, 30 years passed before it happened. When David was doused in oil to be Israel’s next King…20 long years he waited. Are you getting the picture? God operates from a place of seeing the beginning from the end. He knows exactly WHEN things need to happen and how. We.do.not
While we will never know all of the answers as to why we must wait, there are a few reasons we might consider:
1. Other people involved in your answer are not ready. Your answer may involve the free will of another or several other people. All the players must be in place for your answer to come. If even one of them is dawdling things could get held up.
2. You are not ready. Have you noticed God usually gives us a big promise and then all of our circumstances seem to head in the opposite direction away from that promise? He gives us a glimpse of our destiny and then has to get us prepared for it. Not the way I’d do it but then again I’m not god. Sometimes our preparation takes a long long time. We are stubborn, we drag our feet, we don’t submit to the process and there you have it…we wait.
3. We are learning. Waiting or patience is a fruit of the spirit…its definition is to bear or endure pain or difficulty without being annoyed or provoked. We all wait, but HOW we wait is the key. We must “learn” to let the fruit of the spirit be developed during the wait. How long that takes is up to us!
Have you ever been tempted to give up in the wait? Is that a real question? We all have. But years of experience and a little wisdom have taught me that if God has promised something it WILL happen. No matter how long I have to wait, or how many people he has to speak to he will get it done. My job in the wait is to trust…trust God that his promises are yes and amen. He is faithful to his word and he will bring it to pass. Just as he said “Let there be light” millions of years ago, it still continues to travel at the speed of 186,000 miles a second, traveling through space and it will not stop until he tells it to. His word is powerful.
Are you waiting for his promise to you to come to pass? I am. I understand your frustration. In the wait what will we do? “In quietness and trust is your strength” Isaiah 30:15b. Let’s choose to worship, to believe, to trust, to give God glory with our attitude and our words. Let’s believe that what he has promised he will perform because he is faithful. And NEVER NEVER EVER give up. It will be worth the wait!
God you are not a man that you should lie.
What you promise you will perform.
Your promises are yes and amen.
Help us to wait, to trust, to see the bigger picture while we wait. Help our flesh to be crucified and put to death while we wait. Kill everything in us that us not pleasing to you…anxiety, stubbornness, impatience and frustration. Mold us through the wait into what you desire us to be, a reflection of you to everyone who is watching us.