We all will have periods of waiting in our lives. That is a given! But before we dive in to this perplexing topic, let’s agree to define waiting as “the action of staying where one is or delaying action until a particular time.”[i]
Even in this age of modern technology and conveniences, waiting is still a big part of each and every one of our lives. You may start your day off by waiting for your coffee to brew. If you live in an area of high congestion like I do, you typically start off your trek into work by waiting in traffic. You may get to work only to continue to wait on your boss’ decision about a project you are working on. You will probably wait at a restaurant for lunch. You might have to wait in line to pick up your kids from school. You will probably wait on a service repairman to repair your broken washing machine or other major appliance, especially if they give you the lovely “window” of four or five hours for their arrival. And it would be small miracle if you did not have to wait in line at the grocery store. Of course you will absolutely have to wait in an airport terminal for your flight to board. The bottom line is you will wait in this life.
I would label these moments as our momentary, fleeting, or short-lived waiting events. Although they can be somewhat trying, we know approximately when our waiting will end. And their ending usually comes within a few hours, within the day, or within the week in which they occur. With these waiting events, we see the light at the end of the tunnel (and it doesn’t appear to be an oncoming train).
On the opposite side of the spectrum, we have our continuing, long-lasting, or enduring waiting events. These events carry with them a far heavier emotional burden, and in some cases a burden so heavy it is difficult to make it through the day. These events are not kind enough to be short-lived, but rather last for days, weeks, months, and yes, even years.
You may find yourself in a job situation that’s beyond difficult to endure, and you do not know how much longer you can survive waiting for the conditions or the management to change. You may be out of a job and currently waiting on responses from the fifty resumes and applications you sent out. Perhaps you are having health issues and waiting for the pain to finally subside. It could be that you are single and waiting for Mr. or Ms. Right to finally come into your life. Or perhaps, you are waiting to finally become a parent, whether that occurs through your own pregnancy or through adoption.
I don’t know what your situation is, but I do know how heavy the burden is. And I do know how hard waiting is. I know that because I have personally been there and I understand the spiritual battle that can ensue. Unfortunately, we are a part of fallen humanity and our natural tendency is to take matters into our own hands, to fix what is broken, and to follow our own paths. So our natural tendency is NOT to “wait on the Lord,” resulting in an internal war of sorts when He asks us to wait on Him. At best it’s uncomfortable, and at worst, it’s excruciatingly painful, as “what we are” collides with “what God wants us to be.”
[i] Dictionary. com
Waiting is tough…sometimes beyond tough. But the best way for us to wait and not completely lose our sanity is focusing on today…the 24 hours right in front of us. If I am having a hard time with even 24 hours, I have been known to shrink that down to 12 hours, or 1 hour, or heck, on a bad day 1 minute!
Patiently Waiting on God 