Who likes waiting for anything anyway? You may ask. I sure didn’t like waiting, growing up. I was impatient and always felt the need to express my impatience with snide remarks, huffing and puffing at whoever was making me wait. Carrying this habit into adulthood resulted in some painful mistakes that cost me a great deal.
In my journey of getting reacquainted with God in the past 3+ years, I realised God enjoys taking His time when working IN us. Have you ever felt as if God is not in a hurry to sort out your ‘urgent’ problem? In fact, He may decide to address something else in your life which you don’t consider to be a high priority, making it hurt even more. I’ve felt this, wrestled with it, gotten angry at God about it and eventually had to settle in and endure the ride. I never liked the statement that “God is never late”. I know it’s true. I understand its meaning. But sometimes when I’ve been between a rock and a hard place, I felt as if God was late. In some cases, it felt like He didn’t show up at all.
Before you throw rocks at me, remember I’m a firm believer in God and my relationship with Him is of utmost importance to me. I sincerely love my God and Father, but in reality, my relationship with God has not always been a smooth one. I’ve had very bumpy rides on my journey of salvation.
And one of the things God brought to my attention was the fact that I must cultivate the fruit of patience since it was lacking in my life. As I type this, I’ve been in a season of waiting for years, for certain things that I had thought God would have done by now. I’ve had to accept the fact that God is The King of Kings, hence He cannot be forced by anyone to do anything. We’re all under His Authority and we must be comfortable to continue trusting Him even when it seems like nothing is happening in the physical realm.
When I think of waiting, I’m reminded of the story of Martha, Mary and sick Lazarus. Jesus loved this family, yet in His infinite wisdom, chose to take two more days before going to visit them. He already knew that Lazarus was fatally ill and would die. To the natural eye, it would seem like the most cruel thing a friend could do, but Jesus had a much better plan. Instead of a healing, Jesus wanted God to be glorified more through a resurrection, which is exactly what happened- story in John 11:1-44.
In our waiting journey, we can easily perceive God as being mean and cruel to us. We begin to wonder, if He can do all things, why isn’t He helping me? Why isn’t He addressing my pressing issues? Why is He silent when I need Him the most? Why is He making me wait? Why did He do it quickly for so and so, and refuses to do it quickly for me? We may not always get the answer, at least not on this side of eternity, but we can remember that God is consistent in His character- He is ALWAYS GOOD. Your situation may make you doubt this, but the truth is that He is always and will always be good, even when bad things happen around us.
In my waiting journey, I’ve seen a better version of me emerge. I’m less toxic, less angry and more grateful for what I already have. If you choose to partner with God in your waiting season, He can teach you much more than if He gave you what you wanted immediately.
Is it exhausting to wait? YES! Can it get frustrating to keep saying the same prayers and nothing’s happening? Heck YEAH! Waiting expends energy. A lot of energy! Waiting can be very confusing at times. But I once heard a preacher saying that in your waiting season, continue with the last instructions God had given you until He gives you a new set of instructions.
Don’t waste your season of waiting in complaining, anger and frustration. Use it wisely. Make it work for you. Assign a new meaning and truth to waiting. Tell yourself that it’s making you a better human being. If you’re anything like me, you’ll agree that when you get that thing you’ve waited for a long time, you value it even more.
Enjoy the rest also in your waiting season. Most busy seasons of my life were preceded by waiting seasons. When God is preparing you, take advantage of that time to rest, recuperate and build your internal and external capacity, because you’ll need it when your next assignment opens up.
Do the best that you know you can do in your waiting season. I know it may feel like forever, but guess what, TOMORROW MIGHT BE THE DAY YOU GET YOUR ANSWER. ARE YOU READY?
Always,
Posh 💕
