The Waiting Game

Has there ever been a time in your life when the end of something seemed so far away? I can remember in high school, it seemed like I would never become a senior and graduate. Then it came, and was gone so fast. The same thing happened in college. I thought I would never be finished with school, now that it is over, I think back to myself saying, "where did the time go?" That's how it is with everything we go through. While we are in it, there seems to be no end in sight. Once we finish, or come through it, we fell stupid for worrying or thinking it would never end.


The waiting game is probably one of the hardest games we play. Why? What makes it so hard? I have asked a few people their thoughts on this and some of the answers I received were:

"because we live in a world that wants "it my way" and RIGHT NOW"

"because we don't know how to wait. we live in a "microwave" world.....instant gratification."
I totally agree with these two. We want answers, and we want them NOW! I think our society is partly to blame for this. We live in a "now" world. The other part, I believe is Satan. He knows how to twist our thoughts and make us question God.

Really? We question God??

Yes, unfortunately we do, ALL the time. The bible tells us in Romans that all things work together for the good of those who love the Lord, and we know that HE is going to do what's best for us. We also know that we need to fully trust him. But why don't we?

Maybe we are focusing on the wrong things. Instead of worrying about why we can't wait, lets focus on why we should! Some of the promises the bible tells us about waiting on the Lord are :

"But they that wait on the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up on wings like eagles. They shall walk and not faint. " Isaiah 40:31


"since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait on him " Isaiah 64:4

"Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you: he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait on him" Isaiah 30:18

"In the morning, O LORD, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation." Psalm 5:3

"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14

"I wait for you, O LORD; you will answer, O Lord my God." Psalm 38:15

"I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry." Psalm 40:1

"I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob. I will put my trust in him."
 Isaiah 8:17

There are several more, but those were my favorite. They all have the promise that if we wait patiently for the Lord, good things will happen!

I read an article the other day on how parents sometimes get discouraged because their kids become angry with them and do not understand the reasoning behind some of the things their parents do. The parents know what is best for their child in the long run and will protect them in whatever way they can. Even if it means not letting them go somewhere, or have something they really want. Parents know what is best for their children and can see the big picture. Their kids cannot see the big picture, and cannot see the consequences that could happen.

The same is true with our God. He knows what is best for us, his children. We cannot understand why he chooses not to give us things, why he chooses to take things away from us, why he chooses to give other people whatever they want. But he can see the big picture, that we can't. He is not going to give us something, no matter how badly we want it, if it is not the right timing. I know this is SOOOO hard to understand. We don't understand, we can't. We CAN however trust that he knows best. We CAN have faith in him. We CAN hope in him.

Psalm 130 says:

" Out of the depths I cry to you, O Lord!

O Lord, hear my voice! Let your ears be attentive

to the voice of my pleas for mercy.

If you, O Lord, should mark iniquities,

O Lord, who could stand? But with you,

there is forgiveness, that you may be feared.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope,

my soul waits for Lord more than watchmen for the morning,

more than watchmen for the morning.
O Israel, hope in the Lord! For with the Lord there is steadfast love,
and with him is plentiful redemption. And he will redeem Israel
from all his iniquities."

Two times the words "more that watchmen wait for the morning" are stated in this chapter. Coincidence? I think not! The watchman's job was to sit and wait for the morning. That's all they did. We are supposed to wait on the Lord, more than watchmen wait for the morning! That is a lot of waiting!

My dear friend Annette sums it up like this:
"Waiting on God can be a struggle but we have to remember that He strengthens and sends blessings our way. This could be a time in our lives that God is refining us. It will let us reevaluate our lives, see answers to prayers, and see what God is trying to teach us I have to remember that God has a plan for each of us. So often we want things right now we have to learn that our God is on time God like the song says. He is never late or wrong with his decisions. While we wait we must use this time wisely to see what God has for us."

If you are in a time of waiting right now, do not lose heart! Trust that God knows what is best for you. Even if you don't understand it. Because guess what, you can't see the big picture that God can. While you are waiting, try to focus on the blessings that he has given you and tell him how much you COMPLETELY trust him, and that your soul WILL wait on him.

Thank you Jesus for protecting us from our own desires. I praise you for being able to see the big picture, that I cannot see.