“As you know, we consider blessed those who have persevered” (James 5:11a).
I was in a painful situation concerning someone I loved very dearly. As I scanned my Bible, I kept coming across promises of God that contained the word soon. I did not like being in transit, so to speak. I wanted my “soon” to become “now,” but our times are in God’s hands. He makes everything beautiful by His clock, not ours. Then I read James 5:11, and my heart responded with hope! “God will bring an end to this,” I told myself. “Till then I must settle myself to persevere in that hope and trust Him to grow patience in my heart.”
Nobody knows how quickly soon will be! Except God, that is, and He does not tell us. His knowledge is not withheld to tease, but to test our faith.
Waiting for closure always exposes the caliber of my faith, the intensity of my patience and trust, the shape of my character. And when I am waiting for some particular painful something to be over, there is bound to be some bright, well-meaning saint who ”lovingly,” and often with ill-conceived satisfaction, comes around to tell me how much deeper I will be when it is all finished. I want to scream, “I don’t want to be deeper! I want to stay shallow and have the hurt go away soon.”
I have learned, however, that what we do with “The Journey to ‘Soon’” is vitally important. Waiting does not necessarily mean passivity. Waiting works us over, making us pliable in the Potter’s hand. He molds the wet clay and forms a real grown-up person out of the child in me. So I am learning to take action while I wait.
“Waiting on the Lord” does not mean putting on hold everything else in life until the prayer is answered, the situation redressed, or the nightmare over. “Waiting on the Lord” means cultivating an attitude of trust, casting the bundle of personal cares on Him while we busy ourselves with whatever duties we must do. And then He takes care of the rest!
PRAYER
Lord, I confess that I have a hard time waiting on You. I want action now. I don’t want to have to develop the perseverance it takes to wait for You. I realize how shortsighted that is, so help me to develop patience in my waiting situation. I want to wait well…I want to cultivate an attitude of trust, casting all my personal cares on You, where they belong. And help me not to waste the wait, but to get on with the business You have for me at hand. I trust You to work this all out in Your perfect timing. Amen.
