What irony -- "Lord, Give Me Patience--Right Now!" We know there are situations that require us to wait on the Lord and be of good courage. But, we want the wait to be as short as possible so we can get on with our regularly scheduled program already in progress.
"Good things come to those who wait." True, but easier said than done, isn't it? Remember when we were kids and "couldn't wait" for Christmas to come? Regardless of how anxious we were, we didn't speed up Christmas' coming one bit. In fact, counting down the days to Christmas actually made the wait seem longer at times. Even though we thought we absolutely "could not wait," wait is what we did. And, at the end of the waiting, we, indeed received good things.
So, why didn't we learn our lesson about patience then? We waited and endured, sometimes even waited up all night long waiting for "Santa Claus" to come, and even though we never saw him, we saw the evidence of his presence in our presents. And, we had no problem doing the same thing again year after year. Now, if we run into a rough spot with a family member or spouse, we are ready to throw in the towel because we don't have the patience or endurance to wait out the storm, forgetting that the sunshine and a rainbow are never far behind.
Sometimes, when it comes to us waiting on God for answered prayers (to get married, get promoted, etc.) I wonder who is waiting on whom? Are we waiting on God, or is He waiting on us?
Romans 2:4 in the New Living Translation states, "Don't you realize how kind, tolerant, and patient God is with you? Or don't you care? Can't you see how kind he has been in giving you time to turn from your sin?" Hebrews 10:36 goes on to say, "Patient endurance is what you need now, so you will continue to do God's will. Then you will receive all that he has promised."
Sometimes the waiting period is God's plan to allow us to get rid of bad habits and bad thinking that will only cause us to destroy the blessing if we received it too soon. Don't artificially speed up the process due to your impatience and end up with something half-baked.
Waiting involves trust--trusting that God is in full control and never slumbers nor sleeps. Waiting is also equated with serving (at a restaurant the person who serves the food is called a waiter). During the time between your request and your answer, serve the Lord. Don't try to negotiate a deal whereby you will serve God after you get what you want as a way of thanks. Show your appreciation and confidence in God by serving even when there is no trace of what you've been waiting for. Once you get caught up in God, delighting yourself in Him, He will give you the desires of your heart (Psalm 37:4) and before you know it, God will move you from "some day..." to "right now!" But be careful. Remember God can do exceedingly, abundantly above all we could ask, think or imagine...(Ephesians 3:20)
In other words, when the wait is over, God is going to blow your mind!
BNcouraged!
Rev. Karen
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