Patience in the Waiting

Photo by Dawid Zawiła on Unsplash

Recently, I had a couple of friends talk to me about very different problems they are struggling with. Yet, these friends had one thing in common: their present circumstances did not make sense to them, and the future looked pretty fuzzy. God laid it on my heart to share the same message with each of them, and honestly, the Spirit was ministering to my own heart with the same message. I thought to myself, "If my friends and I all needed to hear this message, maybe others do, too." So here it goes...

I don't know what it is you are facing today, my friend. I don't know if you are dealing with loneliness, anxiety, depression, loss of a loved one, unemployment, financial hardship, some combination of these things, or something else entirely. You may be on your knees, crying out to God and begging for answers. You may be lying silently on your bed while your mind is plagued with terrible thoughts. You may be sitting at a bar trying to numb your heart to the sorrow you feel. You may be sitting on your couch, eating ice cream and chips in the hope that it will fill that empty feeling inside. I don't know where you are or what you are going through, but I do know one thing, my God is faithful to see you through. He was faithful before, and surely He will be faithful again.

Recall the story of Abraham. That man had a lot of faith, and I honestly don't know that I could live up to that standard. Anyway, in his very old age, when his wife was far past her childbearing years, God promised Abraham that He would bless him with a son. Abraham believed God, and he waited...and waited...and waited. It seemed as though God would not be faithful to fulfill His promise, so Abraham took matters into his own human hands. (How many times do we, when waiting on God, try to take matters into our own hands?) Abraham slept with his wife's bondservant, and she bore him a son, but this was not the son that God had promised. Yet, even when Abraham was disobedient, God was still faithful. God gave Abraham a son, Isaac, through his wife, Sarah. It takes so much patience when we wait for God to fulfill His promises, but if He was faithful then, He will be faithful again.

Fast forward to the Gospels. Before Jesus went to the cross, He said to His disciples, "You may not understand what I am doing now, but soon you will." (See John 13:7) Friends, though this present moment may seem bleak, and though the future may seem uncertain, God is still at work. I once read this quote that said, "To us, waiting is wasting, but to God, waiting is working." I'm not sure who said it, but I've always loved that. I love that my God is so faithful while I wait to see what He will do. The disciples didn't understand what Jesus meant when he spoke of His death and demonstrated His sacrificial love by washing their feet. Yet, it was for their good and for His glory that He should be crucified, that He might be raised again to give them (and us) life everlasting. So it may be with you, that you may not understand what God is doing now, but one day you will.

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways submit to Him, and He will make your paths straight. Do not be wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord and shun evil. This will bring health to your body and nourishment to your bones." (Proverbs 3:5-8)