Longing WronglySample

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Hurry Up and Wait

Waiting is tough. No matter how many times we hear that God’s timing is perfect, from our perspective, He sometimes seems late. Our clock starts ticking the moment we’ve “placed our order” at the prayer counter. But He does not operate according to our time frame. He is altogether separate and beyond time: He is the self-existent, timeless one.

Think about the 40 years Moses waited in the wilderness, or the 40 years he wandered in the desert without a map or itinerary! We rarely have that kind of patience once, and certainly not twice.

God’s timing is perfect, though the only way we discover that truth is through waiting. The perceived delay sands our souls to greater smoothness. For 25 years, Sarah and Abraham waited on the child God had promised them. In fact, they waited until they were the age of great-grandparents to become first-time parents! Then, to a 90-year-old woman and a 100-year-old man, God gave a child whose name means “laughter”.

The years of waiting had moved Abraham and Sarah into the retirement home, but that was the very moment that God had planned to fulfill His promise. In fact, the delay was what made the miracle miraculous! Man’s perfect timing highlights the craftiness of man; God’s perfect timing highlights the provision of God. Only one of those is lasting.

If you are waiting on God to provide children, a spouse or a different way to make a living, don’t lust after what you perceive as the next thing. Instead, trust and submit yourself to the Lord. Wait on Him by worshiping Him and allowing Him to grow your faith. The interlude of waiting is a growth opportunity to soothe and smooth your anxious heart.

I know that waiting sounds extremely passive. You might equate it to sitting instead of running, when actually it is running a different kind of race—maybe a tougher one. The sprint of activity becomes a marathon of patience as God moves your focus from the exterior to your interior. If that’s what is happening right now, He isn’t holding out on you. He is working in you, in a place no one sees.

During each leg of our journey, God is cultivating depth and maturity in us. When we wait, we trust. Control is relinquished, and faith is given in its place.