Waiting on God

I am an impatient person. I don’t like to wait. I become frustrated by the family in front of me in the drive-thru line taking too long to place an order, the driver driving too slow in the passing lane, when someone does not respond to my text message within five minutes, or quite frankly, whenever something does not happen according to my predetermined schedule. To be even more candid, I find myself often frustrated when God does not act when I think He should. 

Waiting is difficult. However, often in waiting, God is working out his perfect plan in us, our misguided motives are revealed, and our lack of trust is exposed. God does not make us wait because He does not care; He does so because He loves us and knows his plan for us. We need to learn to wait for God’s perfect moment to act. “From of old no one has heard or perceived by the ear, no eye has seen a God besides you, who acts for those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 64:4.) In short, God acts while we wait. 

Contrary to what we may think, “waiting” is not a passive activity. “They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31.) “Waiting” can be, I guess, sitting in your recliner biding your time until something happens. But, I suspect, “waiting for the Lord” for the Christian means something else. Like a waiter in a high-end restaurant, attentively “waiting” on the person she is serving, anticipating and reacting to every gesture, eye, and body movement, and knowing the customer’s wants and preferences. That’s how we should “wait on the Lord.” In essence, waiting on God is to be in relationship with Him through prayer, worship, and in fellowship with fellow believers. We are waiting on God when we become aware of His presence and succumb to His will and guidance. And here is the beautiful thing: while we are waiting on God, God is thinking of us and acting in his perfect timing.  

Carter