Do you like to wait? Oh gosh, it is one of my main struggles. I think everyone has a little difficulty in waiting. The thing is, we all seem to be waiting on something. We pray and pray, only to wait longer. Between you and me, it's in that waiting that my faith is tested and I find out where my treasure really is. Remember as a kid, you would come home from school and want that sweet snack, only to hear your mom say, "You will spoil your appetite. We will have cake after dinner. Just wait a bit." Oh, that cake looks so so good and as it sits in front of you all you can think about is digging into a piece of that delicious chocolate cake, trimmed in rich icing.
We tend to focus on that piece of cake, don't we? Even today as an adult, I find it hard to wait on something I want so badly. Today my wants are not so much a piece of chocolate cake (okay, maybe on some days:) but things much deeper. God doesn't want to give us what we want only to have all He has for us spoiled later, because we were in too big of a hurry. Many times we just don't realize the blessing until we have had time to ponder it all.
For instance, after my husband was laid off from his job we prayed and prayed. We waited to hear something. Anything. He heard a lot of no's. Heard a lot of, your over-qualified's, but not a lot of the yes's we were hoping for. In that time my husband began praying deeper. Asking questions of God. Questions only He could answer. He began to feel less of a man. He was falling into a depression. He didn't have the support around him that he needed. Men, it is so important to reach to one another. Enough of the tough stuff. Hugs, talks and praying is not just for women. Can I hear a witness? He did get a few little jobs here and there. Jobs that provided for us. There was no room for wants, but all of our needs were covered. Don't you love how God does that? It was during that time that we were humbled beyond words. He did a work in my family that couldn't have occurred otherwise.
Yesterday he finally was hired at a job that I know he will be thrilled at. After all that waiting, God opened the door He wanted my husband to go through. My husband heard a lot of no's, but God opened the doors to the yes's He wanted my husband to accept.
"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" Psalm 27:14
We are called to wait. Sometimes in that waiting period we have the time to check ourselves. God opens other doors while we are waiting for that one we have been praying for to open. Sometimes He has other plans for us altogether, but if we hadn't had a waiting period, we wouldn't have been prepared to see what God has before us. Sometimes what doesn't seem to make sense right now, will later make perfect sense down the road once we see the full view.
When a woman is pregnant, she waits nine long months to see her precious baby. You know she is in there, waiting to come out also. In that nine months she is growing. When she is ready, she will arrive. Not on our timing. And lets be serious, sometimes we would have them come long before that nine months is up. Goodness, when your ready to pop at five months your praying for that delivery date to come soon! But during that time, we too are growing and maturing. Our everything is changing. God is preparing us for His gift. Before we can receive it, we must be ready and He gives us perfect timing for unwrapping of our precious gift.
Life is just the same. We need time to prepare. As we are growing, others around us are growing too. As one flower is blossoming, another might need a little weed eating done. God prepares everything and everyone in that waiting period. Sometimes we might think we are so ready, but in the opportunity He has for us, there might be a few things that need to be worked out first. Doesn't that make sense?
We pray for our children to be saved. We pray for them to return to their faith. We pray for peace in our family. We pray for friendships to be rekindled. Jobs, health, income. You name it, we pray it. We want things now. Just this morning, my husband says to me, as he is bringing my coffee to me in bed, "Do you know how spoiled you are?" Of course we had a little giggle, but it is so true. We are all spoiled in some way or another.
If I see a great purse that I love I want to take it home that day. Well, my husband and a few little friends, have taught me to wait until it's on sale. At least wait a bit and see if that is really what I want before I purchase it. So, I wait..I wait..I wait.. Now this usually comes out one of two ways. Either it goes on sale and I grab it up or I realize there is something else I need more. Time changes everything. Most of all, us.
"Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!" Psalm 46:10
It is so hard to be still. It's like a child sitting in church waiting to go home and play with their new toy. They wiggle and swing there legs all through church in thought of going home. We do that same thing. It's easy to tell another to be still, but if something is itching, you just gotta scratch it! We can get so focused on what we want that we lose all sight of what God wants for us.
In being still, in waiting, God teaches us. He molds us. He creates something of beauty in us that needed time to develop and bloom. What are you waiting on today? Is it a prayer you have prayed for years? Don't give up. Keep praying. There is no prayer that goes unanswered. Every prayer is heard and God is working on each one. Sometimes that work only takes a bit. Sometimes it takes longer. Hearts have to be changed. Eyes have to be opened and minds must be accepting. When God is at work, nothing goes untouched by His handy work. He leaves nothing to chance. Everything has purpose.
It is through that time of waiting that we learn more about God and more about ourselves. We learn to become selfless and compassionate to others. We learn trial and error. We are just so eager to hear an answer. Not unlike when we were kids and we wanted to stay over at a friend's home. We often hear our parents say, "Let me think about that." Well, come on already. How long does it take? Impatience gets us no where. That watch pot never boils. We gotta learn to take our focus off our wants and place them on God's wants for us. Our wants and His are very different, unless we are in tune with Him. If we are in the place He has called us to be, we begin to understand His waiting and being still.
Our God has all your needs and wants in control. We must trust Him. Seems those things most valuable are those most waited upon. It seems the things that are created in time are most beautiful. Friends, whatever you are waiting on today is more near than you think. Don't close your mind off to all God has for you while you are waiting. There are many blessings to find along the way. If we stay too focused on our need or want we might miss the biggest blessings of all.
