Lessons learned while waiting….

 

I do not think there has ever been a time in history when the world has struggled with patience more than it does right now.  With information at our fingertips, Amazon shopping on our phones and read receipts on text messages, we have grown accustomed to instant gratification.  We see no value in waiting for anything.  I am certainly no exception.  I have been not so patiently waiting for the results of Michelle’s testing last week since the minute she was discharged from the hospital.

 

It seems like everyone I know is waiting for something.  Whether it is related to finances, relationships, work situations or illness, deep down I believe that everyone has something they have been praying for and waiting to see movement in in their lives.  While we may not see the value or purpose in waiting, I believe that God does.  I sometimes think that God does some of his very best work in us while we are in a season of waiting. 

 

Waiting is a VERY common thread woven throughout both the old and new testaments.  Some people in the bible eventually got what they were waiting for, but some never saw with their own eyes the fulfillment of the things that God had promised them.  That does not seem very encouraging to an instant gratification generation!  Regardless of the outcome though, the common theme was the waiting.  Is it possible that the real prize is the lessons we learn while waiting? Here are some of the lessons I have learned in this season of waiting.

 

1.       Know that God hears you even when his answer has been not yet or even no.

 

Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I watch in HOPE for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

 

We do not see the big picture that God does.  Only he knows the plans that he has for you.  Even when his will does not line up with your wants, he always hears you.  He listens and he cares for you.  He just does it with your very best interest over all, not just for right now.

 

 

 

2.     Know that God is good, even in the waiting.

 

Lamentations 3:25 “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him.”

 

Even when your circumstances do not feel good, God is still good.  God’s character is never defined by your circumstances.  He does not change. 

 

3.     Know that you can have peace and joy even while waiting.

 

 

 

Nehemiah 8:10 “ Do not grieve, for the joy of the Lord is your strength.”

 

 

 

Like God’s character, your joy doesn’t have to be defined by your circumstances.  The last couple of years have been some of the hardest I have ever walked,  AND they have been the most joy filled at the same time.  When I changed my focus from my circumstances to the God that has already done everything I ever needed, I found peace and joy.  That joy really does provide all the strength that I need to get through each day.

 

 

 

4.     The most precious lesson I have learned though is that my increased awareness of the presence of God in my life has been worth every second I have been and will be waiting.

 

 

 

A relationship with God is far better than whatever you are waiting for.  At one point while Moses was in the desert God said that he would not go on with them.  Moses said in Exodus 33:15 “If your presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here.”  This is exactly how I feel.  Lord, if you do come with the answers that I have been praying for then you can keep them!  I choose you. 

 

I believe that HOW you wait is at least as important as the waiting itself.  Our focus can be on our situation or it can be on the One who controls the entire universe.  I do not know what you are waiting for at this moment, what you have been praying for God to do in your life.  Personally, I have been praying for a miracle for my daughter.  Our pastor has been preaching on miracles and he says, “Your miracle may still be in process.”  I choose to believe that.  Her miracle may still be coming but until it does I will be waiting with expectant joy……..AND clicking refresh on the Mayo patient portal because surely those results have to be there soon 😊