"I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He sat my feet upon a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord."
Psalm 40: 1-3 NIV
We can all agree that for the vast majority of us waiting is hard. Maybe we are waiting on a promotion at work, a relationship to come through to fruition or healing from a long illness. Whatever season you find yourself in regardless of the circumstance, waiting is daunting.
In Western culture, we are used to having everything happening instantaneously for us. We can text, swipe left, order food through a mobile app and call someone just through using one hand held technological device. While this progress greatly impacts our society for the positive in a variety of ways, it can also be detrimental when it comes to our inability and our impatience to wait. We have to understand that while God's timing is always good and perfect, it is not always the fastest. Furthermore, since His timing is not fast, this can lead us to question His existence, our belief that He does not care and all-out discouragement.
However, God is not interested in our timing, but He is interested in our full dependency on Him. If He were to give us everything when we would immediately ask for it, we would blow it in our sinful, careless and disobedient ways of being. He also would not be able to be the good and trustworthy, faithful Father that He is. Furthermore, we would not be able to know or experience the true and intimate relationship that He so desires with the each of us.
It is important to note that in order for us to walk in obedience by waiting faithfully, it comes down to the choices that we make and the lens we choose to view or circumstances in. We have to choose to be dependent on Him and His Word so that He can work in us to intentionally grow us. We have to choose joy even in times are sorrowful. We have to choose gratitude and prayer instead of complaining. We have to choose peace instead of chaos. We have to choose boldness when we want to shrink back in fear. We have to choose service instead of complacency. We have to choose love when we want to hate. We have to choose self-control when we want to rise to anger. It is in the season of waiting that God desires to live in us and through us so that He can shape us into His image. However, we just have to let go and give Him the room and power to move.
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