Hurry Up and Wait
I hate to be late. When I commit to being somewhere, I want to be on time. One day, driving in heavy traffic on my way to my destination I hit heavy traffic. Even though I thought that I had left early enough, in the DFW Metroplex, sometimes you never can truly know what time you are going to reach your location. I noticed that I was cutting it a little close, but traffic was moving. All of a sudden, the cars slowed down to a stop. They started to move intermittently, but it was apparent that I was going to be late for the meeting that I had scheduled. As I sat in the driver's seat squeezing the steering wheel my chest began to pound and I started to stress out, thinking, “I hate being late.”
Even more than being late myself, I really dislike when someone else is late. I don’t like waiting. When someone does not show up on time I find myself slipping into my “waiting for time to pass” practice, which doesn’t work because it simply seems to slow down time. James T. O’Brien said, “Regardless of how much patience we have, we would prefer never to use any of it.”
Waiting is the least efficient use of time. Waiting is unproductive and ineffective. But is that true? Could it be that in the midst of waiting is when we find God performing great things for our good and for His glory? Could it be that our efficiency, productivity and effectiveness is based on how well we wait? In Luke 21:19 (KJV), Jesus said, “In your patience possess ye your souls.” In other words, how we wait could affect where we spend eternity.
The person whom we often find it most difficult to wait on is the Lord. We want Him to come into our situations when we, with our limited sight and knowledge, deem that it is the right time. But God knows what is best for us. He knows what we need to learn, how long we need to be in that class, and the type of teaching tool that our circumstances require. It is not important that He comes when we want, but rather that He comes when He wants.
The question of waiting on God is not how long, but rather do we trust Him? The issue is not the wait, but trust. Let’s ask ourselves: Do I trust the Lord Jesus? Do I trust Him enough to wait on Him? Do I believe what He has promised? The Bible says, “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.” “Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: Wait, I say on the Lord.” (Isaiah 40:31; Psalm 27:14). May God bless us as we show Him through our waiting how much we trust Him. Remember that Jesus said, “In your patience possess ye your souls.”
By Stephen Brooks, Executive Secretary
