Grace Of God And Flaws Of MenSýnishorn

A Different Question 

We’ve all been in life’s waiting room. It’s one of life’s non-negotiables. We’ve all had to wait for something - a job, a promotion, an exam result, a spouse, a child, retirement, a holiday… the list goes on.

The one question we need to ask ourselves is: Who is waiting?

The obvious answer, of course, is: Me, that’s who!

But what if waiting periods are actually times of God waiting for us?

Imagine a 10-year-old boy asking his dad, the pilot, if he could fly the plane instead of his father. Obviously, the dad’s response would not be, “Sure thing, son.” He would, instead, wait for his son to grow up, train as a pilot, and become skillful enough to handle an aircraft. It is the father who is waiting for the son to get to where he needs to be to handle the task.

Consider an example from the Bible. God tells Abraham that he will be a father. And then Abraham waits. And waits. And waits some more. It stretches to 25 years of waiting.

There’s little doubt in our minds that the answer to the “Who is waiting?” question is: Abraham.

But maybe the obvious answer is not the correct answer. Maybe it was God who was waiting for Abraham to be ready to take on the role of the “Father of many nations.”

Maybe you’ve asked God for a certain something or somebody. You feel like you’ve been twiddling your thumbs in the waiting room for a long time. You’ve even tried to expedite the waiting process, but your little plot didn’t work and now you’re back to square one.

Maybe you should ask yourself, “Am I waiting, or is God waiting for me?” or more specifically, “For what is God training me during this waiting period?”

When we see a purpose in our seasons of waiting, it brings us closer to God.

Perhaps, He is asking you to delight yourself fully in Him so He can give you the desires of your heart.

Maybe, He wants to expose the idols in your life that have taken precedence over Him.

Maybe He will use this time of waiting to develop your perseverance so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. 

Every season of waiting is a doorway through which more transforming grace enters our lives.