Wait Is a Four-Letter WordSample

 Day 1: Wait Is a Four-Letter Word

It goes something like this:

God is good. Life is. . .pretty good. We’ve been following Jesus for a while, and many of our prayer requests—at least the most important ones—have been answered. Our faith is strong, the future bright. 

But then. . .we want something. Something only God can give. At first, that knowledge feels comforting. Our hopes, our heart, our happiness—all in the hands of our loving Father. All He has to do is snap His all-powerful fingers and. . .done. 

So we turn to God with our request, asking Him to do for us the thing we cannot do for ourselves. But there’s a problem. He doesn’t do it. He doesn’t not do it, either. God doesn’t say no, but neither does He say yes. God says, “Wait.”

Wait, what? This is the twenty-first century! Wait is a four-letter word! 

The good news? We are not alone. People in the Bible also had to wait, and most of them were just as confused as we are, just as mystified and unhappy. Sarah, Hannah, Ruth, Joseph, Gideon, Abraham, and many more—like us, they hoped; like us, they waited in the dark. Their stories are God’s gifts to us—gifts to encourage us in our journeys (Romans 15:4). 

Exodus 3:7 shows us that even when God does not change our circumstances, He still cares: “I have indeed seen the misery of my people in Egypt. I have heard them crying out because of their slave drivers, and I am concerned about their suffering.”

God sees.

God hears.

God cares.

Even when we’re waiting.

I can’t tell you what lies ahead, but I can offer this: Hope that the Bible can help you find the strength and spirituality not just to suffer through your waiting times but to grow through them into the person God wants you to be.

When God says, “Wait ,” He doesn’t tell us for how long.

When God says, “Wait,” we have decisions to make.

When God says, “Wait,” we can control only two things: how we wait, and who we become along the way.

So what are we waiting for? Let’s get started.

I remain confident of this:
    I will see the goodness of the Lord
    in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
    be strong and take heart
    and wait for the Lord. (Psalm 27:13–14)