A few weeks ago, I felt the Lord laying upon my heart the word “Wait”, so I searched the Bible, to see how many times this one little word could be found, and was shocked at the number of references. Waiting is obviously something God wants us to learn a lot about. Yet, in our modern world, people in general seem to want everything yesterday, or now at the very least!
I remember when I saw my first microwave oven. I was about 6 years old, and my mother’s sister proudly showed it to me, then demonstrated how quickly she could make a meal of burgers and baked beans! In no time at all, it was on my plate and I was tucking in. I thought this new contraption was amazing.
There have been many such new inventions, designed with the sole goal of saving time. We don’t have to wait until people are at home now before we can pass on a message, because almost everyone has a mobile phone. WE can just send a text. And the days of letter-writing and waiting for a reply are long gone. In most cases, emails have replaced letters. Do you want something urgently? No problem! For a small price, you can subscribe to Amazon Prime and get it tomorrow! It’s no wonder we aren’t very good at waiting.
Has all this convenience only succeeded in making us more impatient? Don’t get me wrong; I’m not saying it’s all bad. How can I when I wouldn’t be without my mobile phone, and Amazon prime has got me out of many a late birthday gift scrape? I’m just becoming aware that waiting is no longer second nature.
In my grandmother’s day, everything she did took time. There were no quick ways of getting around things, and most jobs required manual input. She couldn’t put her washing machine on before rushing out to do her shopping, then return home with the clothes ready to hang on the line. Meal preparation was time consuming, because most things had to be prepared from scratch. If she had a message for a friend, she either wrote to them, or popped round to their house if they were close by. No doubt, life was harder. But has all this time saving always brought us more happiness?
I often worry that what I call the microwave mentality can creep into our relationship with God. I know it’s something I honestly have to guard against. I wrote earlier in the year about the decades of prayers for my dad’s salvation that the Lord answered not long before his death. There were times when the Lord’s seeming slowness in answering did frustrate me, and fear and doubt crept in. Was Jesus really listening? Would this be the prayer he left unanswered?
We see a lot of instances in the bible where people had to wait for the fulfilment of the things God had promised them. David is a wonderful example. Anointed by the prophet Samuel as God’s choice for Israel’s future king, he had to wait many years before that promise was fulfilled. Yet, he waited patiently, and although opportunities came his way, he didn’t try and rush God’s timing. Even when an opportunity presented itself for him to kill Saul and take the kingdom, he chose to do what was right. (1Samuel 24.)
David is an example of how to wait well, but further back in the Biblical narrative, in the case of the Israelites when Moses left them at the foot of a mountain to go and talk with God and receive his special laws, they got tired of waiting, and decided to take things into their own hands, making hand-crafted idols to worship. Their impatience caused them to need something tangible as the object of their worship. They began doubting whether Moses would come back, or whether this God who had brought them out of Egypt and parted the red sea when all hope seemed lost was as real as Moses said he was. (Exodus 32.)
The truth is that whether we like it or not, we are going to spend a lot of our lives waiting. So, we have the choice of whether we wait well, bringing honour to God in our pauses, or whether we kick our feet like spoiled children, becoming sullen and sulky because as we see it, he isn’t acting quickly enough on our behalf. Maybe we are waiting for God to vindicate us because we have been falsely accused or misunderstood, while those truly in the wrong seem to be prospering. Psalm 37: 7 says: “Be Still before the Lord and wait patiently for him. Do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” Or perhaps we have been feeling low for some time, and we’re waiting for God to lift our spirits. WE read in psalm 40: 1-2: “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 set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.”
I’m sure we’re all waiting for something. When my burden of lingering becomes heavy, doubt sets in, and I am maybe even tempted to rebel, I remind myself of God’s faithfulness to me in the past, and this acts as a balm for my soul. I tell myself he’s never let me down before, so he’s not going to start now. I remind myself that ultimately, despite trials and problems, God has always turned everything around for my good. (Romans 8: 28.) If you need to be encouraged in your waiting, turn to your Bible, and read of the men and women of faith who were tested in their waiting. Abraham and Sarah waited until they were well beyond the natural age of child-bearing before God gave them their promised son. Noah waited patiently in the ark for the flood waters to recede, likely praying all the while that the food supply for himself, his family and all the animals wouldn’t run out before God allowed them to rest on dry land. These are just 2 examples, but there are many more.
I’d like to share 2 final scriptures which bring me great comfort as I wrap up this subject, at least for now. Firstly, Psalm 5 verse 3 says: “In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” It’s wonderful that we are able to do this – to lay out our requests before the Lord, and then wait expectantly. However, expectantly here isn’t to be confused with impatiently. Finally, Psalm 27 verse 14 says: “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
I loved the song. The article was really good too. I know I struggle with inpatients and waiting. It is in our weakness that god shows his glory.