WaitingSample

There Is a Purpose

"Waiting time is not wasted time." That’s an old saying that a friend of mine is very fond of. We live in a cultural moment that disagrees. Society often emphasizes our autonomy: the only thing you need is ambition! Reach out and take what’s yours! This is absolutely true in some cases. Sometimes God gives us what we need to action His plans for our life and releases us to do that. However, we also sometimes find ourselves at crossroads–times between now and what comes next.

As I write this, my wife and I are waiting for the arrival of our second child. The due date was a few days ago, but our first arrived two weeks late. It’s an in-between moment where we have clear schedules, but no baby yet. It’s had me thinking a lot about the Israelites following Moses in the desert. They spent 40 years wandering in the wilderness on a journey that should only have taken a couple of weeks. It must have been so frustrating to know the promise that lay for them over the Jordan, yet to be stuck in the desert. Indeed, they complained a lot! Yet the verse above reminds us of an incredible truth!

The wilderness generation witnessed some of the most incredible feats of God’s power and provision like parting the sea, manna from heaven, the events at Sinai, and God’s presence by day and night. It was a time of waiting, but what a time to be alive! I pray their story is a reminder to you that time in waiting is never wasted.

Written by CHRIS GRESHAM-BRITT