Alright. Here it is. America! We’re too obsessed with the end result. We want immediate change, immediate satisfaction, immediate growth, we have no patience. (Okay, not everyone, but a lot of us) If our computer takes more then 30 seconds to turn on we assume it’s broken. If your google search didn’t load in 15 seconds we assume the WiFi is down. We live in a growing society where faster is always improving. We want everything done in a minimal amount of time. We have Easy Mac, mac and cheese. We have 1 minute rice. We have shellac that dries instantly, that way we don’t have to sit in a chair for ten minutes to let them dry. Have you ever thought of this?
I was sitting with a women at my church talking to her about some things I was struggling with. There was no instant healing and I was frustrated. God was revealing more and more things that were messed up within me and more and more things I needed healing for. She recited this scripture to me,
Though the fig tree should not blossom, nor fruit be on the vines,
the produce of the olive fail and the fields yield no food,
the flock be cut off from the fold and there be no herd in the stalls,
yet I will rejoice in the Lord; I will take joy in the God of Salvation.
Habakkuk 3:17-18
and said, “it’s not always about the healing, but about the attitude in the struggle.”
It’s not always NOW. It’s about what you do during the trial. It’s about the waiting room. I feel like I’m in the waiting room of life for a lot of different reasons.
One of them being watching my friends leave and move on. Everyone I graduated with is now off at college. And having to say goodbye to them, knowing I wouldn’t see them for nine months is so hard. I watch them start their new adventures and I’m still waiting for mine to start. I’m so excited for this next step, this new journey but I’d be lying to you if I didn’t say it hasn’t been an emotional roller coaster. This waiting room has been the hardest room yet. You think you’re prepared and ready but you have no idea what is waiting for you. I don’t know what ministry I will be doing in each country, nor do I know where exactly I’ll be in each country. I don’t even know if I’ll have a bed to sleep on or a place to shower. But I’m still so excited for the journey. I am so excited to grow my relationship with the Lord. I am excited for the new relationships I am building with my team and my squad. The hard part is everyone you talk to is asking if you’re nervous, or afraid, or telling you they’re afraid for you. It smoothers some of the excitement. Don’t misinterpreted what I’m saying. I love that people care, I love that people are concerned for me, but I’m trusting God with my next nine months. I know He is going to do exciting thing. But being in this waiting room and hearing the whispers of the enemy is hard. The enemy tells you, you aren’t prepared, you aren’t ready, you’re not spiritual enough, your friends won’t be here when you get back.. and the lies go on and on. The waiting room is the place where the devil thrives. Because you’re just waiting. Once you’re out of the struggle, on the trip, in the new adventure, you’re excited and you’re on a roll. In the waiting room though, you’re sitting, thinking, and waiting.
The waiting room doesn’t just relate to me and my trip. It’s about the daily struggles I’m facing. No, I’m not healed. But I’m in the waiting room and I can choose to sit and think about all the possible outcomes and worry about the next steps and the unknown. Or I can get on my knees and worship.
It’s time to set our sites on God. Lets stop getting irritated in the trial, and just look at Him and praise Him.
There is a song by Hillsong and one of the lyrics in the song is, “I’ll praise you till the miracles comes.” So I’m choosing to praise God through the struggle. What about you?
PRAISE HIM IN THE WAITING ROOM
