Consider This | While Waiting | Why Wait?

I wait for the LORD, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.  Psalm 130:5 

Waiting rooms. Being put on hold. School drop-off lines. The world gives us zillions of opportunities to wait. On a good day, we might surprise ourselves with how patient we can be. We know we don’t have a choice, so might as well have a good attitude. But there is another kind of waiting that hits us at a deeper level. What do we do when we have to wait on God?

God says to pray, so we pray. He says to believe, so we believe. He says to trust, so we (try to) trust. And nothing changes. The doctor’s report gets worse. The foreclosure notice isn’t going away. Mr./Ms. Right isn’t crossing your path. Now what? The situation is not okay, so why doesn’t God notice that? The Bible contains dozens of commands to “Wait on the Lord,” but have you ever wondered why? Why doesn’t He give us our answer as soon as we ask? Sometimes He does, but not usually. God likes patience more than we do. He wants to develop in us faith, trust, and willingness to agree with His timing. When we stop insisting that God do things on our timetable, we are forced to view the situation from His perspective. As it turns out, that was His goal all along. He cares about our stuff, but He cares more about HIS stuff because His stuff is in our long-term best interest. He makes us wait until we care about what He cares about. Waiting is still hard, but at least we know there’s a reason. 

Final Thought: What is causing you to have to wait on God? Be sure you care about what He cares about.

Prayer: Father, waiting is not my specialty. I get so frustrated and impatient when things don’t go like I think they should. I get angry at you, too. Please forgive me and help me know if I’m being patient for the right things. In Jesus’ name, Amen.