"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:14)!
Are you in God’s waiting room? How is your faith? How is your patience? What are you waiting for? Are you waiting for a marriage to be mended or a mother to get well? Are you waiting for a misunderstanding to be rectified or a job to materialize? Perhaps you are waiting for someone to be released from his or her pain and suffering.
Years ago I watched my own mother fight with cancer to the death. I cried out in agony, “Lord, release her now!”
“Soon,” he replied. And two days before she died she put her trust in Jesus. I am so glad he said “soon” and not “now.”
Another time my husband called to tell me he was extending his evangelistic tour. “But it will soon be over,” he assured me. His absence afforded me the extra waiting time to join a mission team and catch a big fish!
Waiting on God does not mean waiting on everything else in life until the prayer is answered, the situation is fixed, or the nightmare is over. Waiting on God gives us a chance to grow trust while we busy ourselves with whatever personal responsibilities we have.
The devil loves to slow us to a dead stop, telling us we need to wait until things are okay again before we can serve, teach, preach, or take up our daily duties. He would paralyze us with the pain of waiting. The devil says, “Wait until things are normal.” God says, “Keep working while you’re waiting.”
Next time a problem arises in your life and you are tempted to ask, “Are we nearly there?” settle in for the long haul and learn patience. How can we learn it unless God gives us a reason to use it?
It is hard to be in God’s waiting room, but love accepts a difficult situation without giving God a deadline to remove it. God wants to see us grow in patience and trust in the soil of our suffering.
PRAYER
Lord, I have to be honest. I don’t like waiting rooms. Too often, I want to give You a deadline and then am disappointed when You don’t meet it. Give me the faith and patience to wait well and not fail to carry out those things You have for me to do during this waiting time. I want to trust You more; I want to grow in my patience—but it’s so hard. Give me the strength to accept this difficult situation in my life and to trust Your perfect timing. In the meantime, help me to get on with it! Amen.
