Waiting

“Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!” Psalm 27:14

Wait. That has often been one of my least favorite words. Who likes to wait? Not many of us. This is why we shop Amazon Prime, get Fast Passes at Disney and eat so much fast food. Waiting is no fun! Ask any child who is waiting for a birthday or a holiday. Waiting stinks!

But, as much as I hate to wait in the midst of everyday circumstances, God is teaching me a lot about how we learn and grow in the waiting. My natural tendency has always been to push ahead, forge my own way and make my own plans. Oooh, I love a good plan. I like to make things happen.

When God called me into full-time ministry in my early 20’s, you better believe I had a plan. Guess what? My life pretty much looks nothing like the plan I had back then. Guess why? Because, God’s plan for my life is so much better than even the best plans that my type-A self could come up with on a spreadsheet.

During the last 5 years of my life, I have spent a lot of time in waiting. I’m still sitting in a time of waiting. I would like to say I’ve waited well. But, let’s be honest, most of the time I’ve whined while I’ve waited. And when I whine and pout and complain, God is quick to show me that He is with me in the waiting. And, not only is He with me in the waiting, He is growing me as I wait. If I would have accomplished my own plans on my own timeline, I would not have grown into the person He wants to use in the ways He wants to use me in the future.

I have no idea what God has for me next and many of you might feel the same way in your own life. But, there is one thing I do know, He wants to be present in our waiting and He wants to use the waiting period as a preparation time so that when we get to the other side, to the next thing, we will be fully trained. My prayer is that I would be found faithful in times of waiting and times of action. Lord, let it be so.

“’The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul, therefore I will hope in him. The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:24-25 (ESV)