Waiting Well

Psalm 27:13 -14

I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Times of waiting are often some of the hardest times of our lives, aren’t they? They require so much strength and endurance as well as a daily, even hourly, decision to trust God. Perhaps we are carrying a heavy load and have to go just a bit farther…but how many times have we heard that said already? Or we have to be content a little longer alone though our hope for a friend or spouse doesn’t seem to be that much to ask. Or maybe we are stuck doing what seems to us endless and pointless. Examples could go on and on really.

I would hope as adults we would understand more easily that life is all about God’s timing, not our own. But daily I certainly struggle with impatience. There is a proper time for everything we are told in the book of Ecclesiastes. God weaves together so many factors in his perfect plan. How can we expect we to always get what we want now?

Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

So much of waiting well includes trusting God. His way is always best and he sees every factor involved that we do not. We have to desire to want what God wants and love what God loves. And we must trust God’s processes. So much of what God is doing involves shaping our character and aligning us with his truth.

In our sinful world, what is valued is prideful independence, my preferences and getting all I deserve. What God values is our dependence on him, our submission to his will and our humility. Exact opposites. Because we are so stubborn to change, it does take elaborate plans to get us where we need to be. God never seems to be in a rush either. How often do we read of 40 years waiting here and there for the next phase of life in the Bible? 40 years is easily half of our current lifetime!

Recently I was reminded of how quickly God often does work when the timing is right. It is a joy to see all the circumstances falling into place in a way that can only be God’s doing. It’s so wonderful to see him get the glory as He should. We catch a glimpse of what He is doing and it’s just amazing. (Then ironically we struggle to keep up with his fast pace.)

I’ve found the hardest times of waiting for me seem to be when I feel I have a wonderful godly plan but nothing comes of it. It seems to me it’s something that should please God and maybe is something I wasn’t even open to in the past but there it sits as life goes on as usual. All I can see is lots of stop signs. Is it just God changing my heart desires I wonder? I wish I could say I understand but often I really don’t.

Isaiah 55:8-9 says “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways,” declares the Lord. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.”

God orchestrates the goings-on of the whole world, all space and time, everything. I struggle to orchestrate my day! God is all knowing. He knows every thought, hope, and desire every person has or will have. We are open books to him. I often find there are huge parts of my own heart I don’t understand! There have been times in my life I was sure I was running down the best path ever at full speed only to find I got off course miles and miles back without having a clue. It is a very good thing that God is in control, not ourselves. He is perfect in every way and so wonderfully good. When he has us wait it is because that is what is best.

We do have many choices as we often are waiting in our lives. There is always beauty around us somewhere to enjoy and appreciate. Sometimes we are in the midst of the most beautiful, elaborate place that completely overwhelms our senses. Other times we must look for beauty and find it in places we never expected – a tiny plant growing in the crack of the sidewalk perhaps, an intriguing geometrical shadow made from the bars of my cell, the haunting screech of an owl I hear as as I wander lost in the dark and lonely woods.

God is always at work and we are never forgotten by him. We can always have hope. We may feel frustrated that we remain where we don’t want to be or that circumstances stay the same despite all our prayers. We cannot see what God is doing often. We may not even feel his presence. But God promises never to leave us or forsake us – and God never breaks a promise. So we do whatever that next thing is for his glory. Maybe we must ask God for help loving a difficult person around us. Or maybe we ask God to help us have a smile on our face as we do what we must do. At some point we may need to ask to be able to truly celebrate with a brother or sister that finally is done waiting themselves without feeling sorry for ourselves.

In the end all I can say is that God is wonderfully in the waiting too. He’s accomplishing all sorts of things behind the scenes in our character, in our desires, in those around us and in his amazing grand plans. The waiting times can be good times, even great times if we have the right viewpoint.

Regardless of how time seems to be passing, it is zipping by. Our days on earth are not many compared to eternity. We can endure because we have the Almighty God of the universe right here with us, sharing our load. God gives us the Holy Bible that overflows with examples of people that did have to wait and how God did help them endure the best way possible. The Bible helps us see that life is always about God’s perfect timing, not ours. We have Holy Spirit to remind us of who we are and who God is and that we are so very blessed. And thankfully God gives us people to walk this long road with so we can encourage one another and remind each other what is true.

So we wait and pray to God that we wait well. We pray that we glorify him in our waiting and that we help others as they wait too. We pray that we allow God to thoroughly prepare us to be ready to run fast and hard when he says it’s finally time to go because that day will come.