Today, I must confess…I hate waiting. Waiting rooms are filled with the aroma of nervous people, impatient people, tired people, and frustrated people.
Lately, I’ve had to wait more than I’ve cared to. Sharing a car with my husband for a few weeks meant waiting – waiting after work, waiting at the girls’ ballet school, waiting at home for his return so I could go and take care of my errands, waiting in the car, etc. Likewise, many of us are waiting- waiting for answers, waiting to be contacted, waiting for the right time, waiting for someone, waiting per doctor’s orders, waiting for funds to come in, waiting for the right person, waiting for prayers to be answered.
We often get angry if we have to wait for an extended time. Seeing others coming and going as they please reminds us that we are stuck waiting. Seeing others get their prayers answered reminds us that our time has not yet come. Waiting can lead to doubt – we doubt ourselves and we doubt the one we are waiting on. On many occasions where I ‘ve had to wait for my husband, I began to question myself. Although I knew I had told him what time to pick me up, waiting made me believe that perhaps he didn’t hear me correctly, perhaps he didn’t know the magnitude of the situation, perhaps he forgot about the arrangements we had made.
Waiting makes us angry with God. Why isn’t He answering yet? How long will it take? Waiting also leads us to consider other options we would not normally consider. We lose hope and start to consider solutions that would otherwise be unwise. Waiting sometimes makes us think we can do the job alone, without help from the one we are awaiting.
How often do we use our wait time as productive time? I’m not talking about pulling out the laptop and doing work. I’m talking about productive time in God’s presence…productive time giving our praises, time to speak to God. I remember years back when I had to drive over an hour, two nights a week to attend classes. While I dreaded the drive, I began to see it as a time to clear my mind and focus on time with God. I began to pray, sing praises and enjoy the silence that allowed me to hear God.
Fast forward to today, I’m often not using my wait time as productive time. I’m not using it to build up my faith. I’m often not using it to remind myself of the promises of God. Instead, I’ve been using that time to listen to the bad reports around me. I’ve used it to complain to others, to allow fear to grow in me.
Father, it seems that if I’m not waiting on one thing, I’m waiting on another. I realize that even in the waiting, You are with me. You are calling me to draw closer to You. You are beckoning me to know you better in that time. You are reassuring me that You are for me. Help me to wait on you with more patience, more hope, more trust. Help me to stand secure. My eyes are on you as I wait for You to come through.
2 Chronicles 20:12 “…We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.”
Anonymous
March 18, 2014Wow, I was just talking to a friend today about how I felt like I was in a waiting zone and how this time was allowing me to grow closer to God. This post was such a blessing to me. Keep em' coming 🙂
Love,
your sister
Noaimai Pannah
March 19, 2014Waiting, waiting, and more waiting, is something that we do not like to endure but is inevitable. Often times when we finally get what we have been waiting for then there is something else that we replace it with. You hit it right on the button Jandi by letting us know that in our times of waiting we need to use that time to draw nearer to God and be in His presence. He always provides and He always answers sooner or later just trust Him:)
Noaimai
J.Harris
March 20, 2014@Sis – God has a way of always confirming things for us! Thank you for reading.
J.Harris
March 23, 2014@Noaimai, Yes, we definitely do not enjoy the waiting process but God uses that precious time to deposit the things we need for the blessing! Thank you for always being a faithful reader 🙂