Time | Patiently Waiting on God

The Mundane Becomes the Magnificent

I have a little calendar of quotes on my desk that I get to enjoy every morning. And yesterday’s quote was: “Time is a very precious gift of God; so precious that it’s only given to us moment by moment.” – Amelia Barr

And something struck me….that quote resonated deep within my heart. Not in the way it might have in the past where although I may have appreciated the meaning of the quote, there would also be a slight irked feeling where I would challenge the author to walk in my shoes and all the time I spent waiting.

But yesterday was different. I appreciated the quote. I savored the quote. The quote from Ms. Barr reminded me that time is precious, and it’s a precious gift…even the time spent in waiting.

I don’t know why God has asked me to wait as long as He has for the deepest desires of my heart to be fulfilled. But I trust Him. I don’t know why I have received promises from my dear Heavenly Father that remain unfulfilled up to this point in time. But I love Him.

And in my waiting, the mundane has become the magnificent. I am appreciating every second of every day and trying to literally suck the life out of each and every second I have, living life to its fullest…..even while I wait…especially while I wait.

God’s Appointed Time

God has an appointed time for everything in our lives. Everything. Every situation, every promise, everything….has a God appointed time. Yes, this also includes the end of our waiting. In fact, Habakkuk 2:3 tells us, “For the revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay.”[i]

As we wait for God’s appointed time of our promised revelation, there is a myth that we need to strike from our hearts, and some points of fact that we need to ponder. So let’s dive right into the myth. I believe that there is a key myth that Satan bombards us with during our time of waiting – That God has forgotten about us. I can just hear Satan whispering in my ear, “God has sadly forgotten about you. I mean, look at the time that has elapsed between when He gave you the promise and the godly desires began to well up in your heart, to today. It’s been a long time. I mean a really, really long time, and He has so many incredibly important things going on that He just forgot your little issue.”

These are nothing but lies. Our God who loves us enough to know the very number of hairs on our heads, and who catches each and every tear drop that falls from our eyes, has not forgotten about us. Deuteronomy 31:6 reminds us of this when it says, “Be strong and courageous…for the Lord your God goes with you; He will never leave you nor forsake you.”[ii] Although Satan would love us to believe differently, our God will never leave us, never forsake us, and never forget about us. He simply can’t. He loves us too much. We are imprinted into the very palms of His hands.

[i] NIV Habakkuk 2:3

[ii] NIV Deuteronomy 31:6

24 Hours

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!

When I focus on my 24 hour period, I don’t get overwhelmed by what may or may not come, how it will all work out, or all the time that has passed. I focus on today, and living today to its’ absolute fullest.

And that’s what God calls us to do right? Live life to its fullest today, while we let Him take care of the future and working out His promises for us. And He will! We can trust Him to do all He has said that He would. He is the great Promise keeper.

So, for today…I will keep my eyes on Him and living out my next 24 hours with all the passion and zest for life that I can muster up!