When Waiting Gets Hard
“Waiting.” It’s not something we like to hear, but it’s something we all eventually have to do at some point in our lives. We live in a fast paced world that teaches us “the quicker the better.” Thank goodness for self-checkouts in stores! Or the fact that we can shop for anything on our smart devices and with just a click of a button it’s delivered in just a few days time. I believe “waiting” comes with a negative connotation. But Why? I’ll put it bluntly: Because we are impatient, selfish people who don’t like to do it. We want what we want, when we want in. (“Alexa, play You can’t always get what you want by The Rolling Stones.”)
According to God’s standards, waiting can be a life changing thing, in a positive way. Let’s take David for instance. He had to wait a whole 15 years for God to answer his promise of becoming the anointed king. Sarah had to wait 25 years for her promised son. Moses had to wait 40 years in the desert before he could lead the people of Israel. The woman dealing with the issue of blood had to wait 12 years to be healed. Joseph had to wait a couple of years locked up in prison. There is one crucial thing that all of these people had in common; All of the promises God made to each of them were answered. God remained faithful in the waiting, as He continues to do today.
Sometimes it’s easy to look at the miraculous stories in the Bible and assume that they served a different God than we do today, but sister, I can assuredly tell you that God is doing something during your waiting. I’m speaking to myself as I write this. Some of you may be waiting for an answer of some sort, a job, a house, that special someone to sweep you off your feet, a door to open, reconciliation, an answered prayer, a test result, forgiveness, healing, a pregnancy, or a child, and the list goes on and on. Waiting is hard and it’s uncomfortable. Just go back and look at Sarah’s story in Genesis 16 when she got tired of waiting on a son and tried to take matters into her own hands. That wasn’t God’s plan but He still kept His promise to her. Even through Sarah’s doubting and unfaithfulness, God remained faithful.
My husband who is a pastor is currently leading our church through the book of Exodus. One of his quotes that stuck out to me was, “God cares more about your character than your comfort,” meaning even though the waiting isn’t easy, He is shaping and molding us into who He wants us to be. Sometimes the waiting can take a few weeks, sometimes it can take years. It’s easy to want to take control and try to do God’s job for Him when we don’t know how long the wait will be. Terrible idea.(Too bad we can’t ask Jonah how it felt to be in the belly of a fish!)
I want to encourage us not to complain or doubt during the waiting (as I tend to do), but press in and trust that God has our best interest at heart. I encourage you to remember, waiting can be a good thing. You never know what God is going to show you during the waiting, and who you are going to be on the other side!
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” -Lamentations 3:25
“Therefore the Lord waits to be gracious to you, and therefore he exalts himself to show mercy to you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” -Isaiah 30:18