When God whispers, “be patient and wait on me!”
PART 1
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” Lamentations 3:25 (ESV)
Hi Friends! It’s New Year's Eve, and I have just returned from a long overdue vacation with my wife, Erikka, to Tuscon, Arizona. While much of the country was suffering through a bitter polar blast, I spent the last five days relaxing by the pool, golfing, eating great food, connecting with my wife, and reflecting on the past year. (Yes, I am bragging)
One consistent theme surfaces when I think back over the past twelve months, God’s constant and consistent whisper telling me to be patient and to wait on Him. It’s also the message that I struggled with the most in 2022; perhaps, it’s been the message I have wrestled with my whole life.
Why is waiting for God so hard? What is He trying to teach me/us when He tells us to be patient and to wait on Him? At 46 years of age and new to the step-father role, I am beginning to understand. Let me explain.
Our family is not unlike many families today in that we are a blended family. Erikka arrived with a beautiful five-year-old daughter, now six, who I call “Bean,” and me with a two-year-old mini-schnauzer named Baxter. Bean is a beautiful, bright, and imaginative little lady who knows what she wants and often wants what she wants on her schedule. Erikka and I often find ourselves telling her to be patient and to wait.
On one occasion, while driving home from school, Bean asked me to stop at Chick-Fil-A to get her a kid's nuggets meal. Her mother had informed me that she was cooking dinner, a detail I chose not to share with her at the time. She was not happy when I told her to wait and be patient and that we would eat when we got home.
After a brief back and forth, I told her that she had a choice to make, we could stop, and she could get her Chick-Fil-A, a decision that would bring her mother’s wrath upon us both, or she could wait and see what was in store for her when we got home. Wisely, she agreed to wait, saving us both, and when we got home, she was delighted to find her mother had cooked her favourite dinner.
So, what have I learned from this? Why is waiting for God so hard? First, I am not unlike our precious Bean; there are times when I allow myself to be ruled by my desires. I often battle with God to get what I want on my timeline, taking me out of His plan for my life. In other terms, I stubbornly step out of His will and into my own, and as a result, I often miss out on the amazing things that He has set out for me. Let’s face it; we live in a society bent towards instant gratification, and we, as Christians, are not immune to that tendency.
What is God teaching us when He tells us to be patient and to wait on Him? His call to patience is a call to obedience. Yielding to my impatient nature and refusing to wait on Him is simply an act of disobedience, and disobedience has its consequences.
As 2022 comes to a close and as we usher in the new year, I encourage you to join me as I wait patiently for the Lord, not out of blind submission, but in humble recognition that He is good, His perspective is rooted in His infinite wisdom, and His perfect plans are better than ours.
Wishing you and yours a Happy New Year!
Yours in Christ,
Brad
Prayer
Dear Lord, I know that at times I can be impatient, and I get out ahead of you despite your quiet whispers telling me to be patient and to wait on you. I understand that your perspective is broader than mine and your wisdom knows no boundary. Father, forgive me when I am disobedient, and this new year, I ask that you continue to mold me into your likeness and direct me toward your perfect will for my life.
Explore the Word
Psalm 46:10
1 “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. 2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. 3 He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.”
Psalm 40:1-3 (NIV)
