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Tired of Waiting |
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Are
you one of those people who get very impatient when you
have to wait? If you are, you have good company. Whether
it’s waiting in line at the post office (“what
do you mean I’m number 24?”), grocery store
(“hey, that person has more than ten items!”)
or in traffic (“C’mon, I should be home by
now!”) I am convinced that many of us suffer from
a lack of patience.
In our hurry-up-and-go world it can be very frustrating when
we can’t go faster and do more. We’ve been
trained to expect things fast. Travel by air, fax machines,
instant email, fast food—the list is long. No
wonder we’re so impatient.
It’s great to have some of these modern conveniences.
Sometimes it can be more than convenient. Improved technology
has made possible medical techniques that have saved countless
lives. However, let’s face it: this “need
for speed” has created plenty of problems in its
wake.
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Preparation Time
The Bible is full of stories about the many years God
took preparing people for some incredible tasks. Abraham
and Sara were long past childbearing age when God’s
promise of a son for them came about. Joseph had to endure
imprisonment before finding favor in Egypt, and then it
was much later before his brothers traveled there looking
for famine relief and eventually discovering the fate
of the one they’d sold into slavery. Moses tended
sheep for forty years before his call to return to Egypt
and ask Pharaoh for deliverance of his people. Moreover,
the Israelites wandered for another forty years before
entering the Promised Land. These are just a few examples
from the Old Testament.
Recall that Jesus started his ministry with forty days
of fasting, prayer and temptation in the desert. That
was after thirty years of non-public life. Clearly, God
has reasons for His timing. We so often need preparation,
but don’t realize it.
In our own lives, we may crave a greater relationship
with God and as we spend days and nights in prayer there
may come times of frustration or despair that God is not
using us the way we think He should. We think we’re
stuck in dead-end jobs or relationships and we wonder
if God is even listening.
What is the design in the waiting? What can we learn from
it?
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Living in the Question
To answer the questions it helps to ponder some more.
I understand this might be frustrating. You want answers.
Sometimes it takes living in the question for a while
to find those answers.
Ask yourself what you are waiting for. Is it a job? A
cure? A greater purpose? Perhaps, the path you want to
travel seems vague or even blocked. Maybe you have been
given an answer you refuse to accept.
Furthermore, what are you doing while you wait? Do you
just fret and simmer? Alternatively, are you depressed
and resigned to an unpleasant outcome?
God knows us so well. He’s aware of all our short
comings. He knows us better than we do. He is constantly
at work in our lives. Do you think He may be preparing
something greater for you that's impossible to do with
your limited powers? Are you willing to wait patiently
with faith and hope of a tremendous outcome? God wants
good things for us. Sometimes that means getting a better
job or relationship than we could have dreamed. Other
times it may mean He’s leading us into new growth
and what we get, on first glance, might seem to be wrong
or too painful.
One thing I’ve experienced over and over again is
that I can’t possibly see what’s best for
me. Oh, I can put my imagination to work and I certainly
can give you my opinion. Still, my way is often so inferior
to what God orchestrates.
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Changing Our Perspective
Once we put ourselves in the perspective
of God’s will we suddenly recognize there is much
more involved in the best outcome. Many other people are
part of God’s plan and it takes time to get all
of us to connect in ways that bring the plan to fruition.
That’s not to say God can’t move things along
faster. Sometimes He does. Surprising coincidences abound.
What is more likely is that we are being steered in the
right direction, then our self-will interferes, and we
get off track again. That is not God’s fault.
Waiting on the Lord's instruction is important. Understanding
when to pause and when to go is not always easy, but it
is crucial. Fooling ourselves and delaying a commitment
to God’s direction, love of others or doing the
next right thing must be avoided. We cannot excuse ourselves
from doing what we know is right. Time keeps on ticking
and we have a responsibility to use it wisely. There come
times in each of our lives when action is called for.
The most striking reason for delay may be to give glory
to God. The followers of Jesus were quite upset that Jesus
did not go to Lazarus before he died. They had come to
expect the Lord would respond quickly and with another
miraculous healing. However, Jesus tarried. It must have
been terribly anguishing to Lazarus’ friends and
family.
()
In the end, an awesome miracle happened when Jesus brought
Lazarus back from death. Anyone would testify to the greater
impact of that! A lesson learned from this is we can use
our time to glorify God rather than to gratify our selfishness.
The next time you feel frustrated while waiting, think
of this and your weariness will melt away as you discover
the joy of living each moment in gratitude for God’s
constant love and goodness.
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Hurry Up and Come, Lord!
We must avoid the subtle danger in wishing Jesus would hurry
and come back and take all our troubles away. “End
time watchers” and “Rapture-seekers”
are in danger of obsessing and thus, failing to live in
the here and now.
Furthermore, we should not turn our backs on the belief
that Christ will indeed one day return. We must heed the
warning in Matthew 24:48: " ‘But if that evil
servant says in his heart, 'My master is delaying his
coming,'". Failure to heed this message could result
in our trying to control things or live life the way we
want--selfish and rebellious. The end will still come
and we will need to answer how we spent our time.
We should always remember that our understanding
of "time" is a human interpretation.
2 Peter 3:8 tells us a heavenly interpretation of time
is much different: "one day is as a thousand years
and a thousand years as one day". The next two verses
show God's desire that we all should reach repentance,
and yet, none of us know the timing of the "day of
the Lord".
The next time you are stuck in a long line, or frustrated
that your prayers have yet to be answered, try thanking
God for your life and the opportunity to pause and appreciate
it.
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Scripture taken from the
Holy Bible, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION®.Copyright ©
1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. All rights
reserved throughout the world. Used by permission of International
Bible Society.
NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION® and NIV® are registered
trademarks of International Bible Society. Use of either
trademark for the offering of goods or services requires
the prior written consent of International Bible Society.
Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy
Bible, New Living Translation, copyright ©1996. Used
by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton,
IL 60189, USA. All rights reserved.
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PROVERBS 21:5 |
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"The plans of the
diligent lead to profit as surely as haste leads to
poverty. " |
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(NIV) |
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