“And so after waiting patiently, Abraham received what was promised.” Heb 6:15
Waiting…that word has a negative stigma attached to it. I think many times we can fall into the mindset that something is wrong with us because we are waiting. We all have something we yearn for that we do not have – be it a spiritual gift, a spouse, or even a family. We yearn for these things, and when we don’t have them we start to wander what’s wrong with us. But just because you are waiting for something does not automatically mean you don’t have it because you are guilty of sin or because you need to be perfect. I don’t know if I have met a person yet who loves waiting for something. The word waiting often evokes in me an inner-resistance, a refusal to submit. We say, “Patience is a virtue,” yet being patient implies a level of suffering. The word itself comes from a word that literally means “to suffer, to bear.”
But that’s the way we often look at it isn’t it? We think ‘Because I am waiting something is wrong with me. God is not giving me what I want because something is wrong with me. There’s some sin God is punishing me for or He is at the very least displeased with me and wants me to get my act together.’ For example, singles (and I used to think this way too) seem to think there is some secret test you have to pass before God brings along the One. We think that’s why God brought that other person a spouse and not us, they must have passed the test. And until we pass this secret test under God’s supervision we won’t get married. We see God as distant, uncaring, and demanding perfection. God does not demand we have all our ducks in a row before He gives good gifts. I do, however, believe He uses time to prepare us to be good stewards of the gifts we will be given.
Sometimes it just isn’t the right time to have what we want. It’s not good for us. If it was good God would not withhold it. God’s timing is different from our own.
Waiting doesn’t have to be a bad thing. God may be pulling you away like a tide for one season of your life to release you later into another season where you have what you have longed for. And if that’s not what God wants for you then He will conform your desires to His own as you delight in Him – “Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps 37:4). And contrary to popular opinion waiting does not make you weak, it actually makes you stronger.
For some reason, there has been a shame attached to waiting, implying that something is wrong with you because you are waiting. This shame may come from the questions of others around you, “why don’t you have a job yet? Why aren’t you married yet? Why don’t you have kids yet?” As a single I am often asked by well-meaning people why I don’t have a boyfriend yet, as if something is wrong with me because I’m not dating. But that’s a lie. There’s nothing wrong with me just because I’m not dating anyone.
And there’s nothing wrong with you if you choose to wait on God rather than seizing what you want right now in a way that is outside of the will of God. On the contrary, it’s a good thing and God is proud of you! And as a result, sometimes the world won’t understand. It doesn’t make sense to the world why you would wait on God’s timing when you could have what you want now even if it’s not the best for you or if it’s only temporary. But strength will rise as we wait upon the Lord.
And isn’t that what life always is? Aren’t we always waiting for something? What you are waiting for changes depending on who you are. But even once you have one thing you are inevitably waiting on another. I am waiting for a spouse and to go to graduate school for counseling. But once I have a graduate degree I will be waiting on my dream job and I will be waiting to move overseas. Then I will be waiting to work with women and children coming out of sex trafficking and eventually being a mother to some of those children. Then I will be waiting for my children to grow and mature. It’s always something; what you are waiting for is different from me. You may be waiting to start a family. But once you have children you will be waiting for them to grow up and then you will be waiting for the day they leave. As we go through life we go through phases and seasons. Once we are in one season of life we anticipate the next.
You know who else is waiting? Jesus. Jesus is waiting for His own wedding day. As He abides with the Father in heaven He eagerly waits for His wedding day. There is a difference in being content with God and being content with your circumstances. You can still be content with God and long for more. Contentment does not mean you get to a place and say, “I don’t want this anymore.” Jesus Himself is content with the Father where He is right now, yet He longs for more – the day in which His Bride (the church) is ready and He comes back for her. He does not yet know the day when He comes back, only the Father does (Matt 24:36).
I can imagine Him eagerly looking at God asking, “Now? Can I go now?” and the Father replying, “Not yet, My Son. The time is not right.” And we long for and eagerly await His return also. As we wait we must not compromise out of discouragement. “Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see” (Heb 11:1). Hope implies a sense of waiting. And faith would not be faith if there was not some element of hope and, therefore, some element of waiting. We are always waiting for something, including Him
