Have you ever been so excited about something or wanted something so bad that you can not sit still while you’re waiting?
I am literally the worst at waiting for something that I am excited about. I was always the kid that couldn’t get to sleep on Christmas Eve and then was running around at 4am shouting, “Santa came!!! Wake up!!”. Even worse, I have to do my Christmas shopping at the last minute because I can NOT keep a secret. I am just not good at sitting still and waiting for good things!
There are a lot of times in life that we are faced with the tension of wanting to speed up time and get to the event we are focused on. It could be waiting for that big promotion, dream job, starting a family, summer vacation…whatever it is the “season of waiting” is one that comes up again and again in life.
Right now, I am in a season of waiting to go on the World Race. Since I was planning on leaving in January, I have an extra 6 months of not really knowing what to do. This morning I was wondering why I have to have a time of uncertainty right now…actually I have kind of been in a time of uncertainty for a while now as I put everything on hold and prepare to leave for 11 months. I was praying for the Lord to reveal to me what is going to happen next or what to expect.
As I was praying about this time in my life I began thinking about some of the times in the bible when people were in times of uncertainty and waiting. There was Job when he was going through his extreme hardships and the Lord did not tell him what would happen next or when it would end. There was Mary as she agreed to give birth to Jesus, not knowing how Joseph would react. There were the apostles waiting in the upper room the Saturday before Jesus rose from the dead, not knowing what was going to happen next. All of these examples made me realize that times of waiting and uncertainty must have a point…probably a very important point. I realized we probably aren’t supposed to immerse ourselves in something (like work or hobbies) to make time go back by faster. We definitely aren’t supposed to dwell on our anxieties for the future…so what is the point?
It is in the time of waiting that we are between two things. We are between what was and what will be. We were settled in one way and now things are changing and we are not yet settled in to what will be. This is the time God uses to really draw us to him on a deeper level. It’s much more difficult to continue taking brave steps forward when you can’t see where you are going. It requires a lot more faith, prayer, and trust when you don’t know the end result. Times of waiting and uncertainty are not wasted. They are not pointless. They are not to be overlooked. This is the time that faith becomes tangible as you choose how you will wait.
Will you cling to God and share your every uncertainty with him or will you block this time out and try to speed the process along?
Will you seek the Lord in the middle of your discomfort or will you turn to another coping mechanism?
You choose how you will wait. You choose if this will be a time of anxiety and uncertainty. or…will it be a time of growth with your savior?
We know that he gives us every thing we need for every situation we are faced with. We know that he is working everything out for our good. We know that he is always good.
And just like that…He turned my day from uncertain to certain.
How will you spend your time waiting?
