The Good Wait?

I am impatient. Waiting vexes me, but not the kind of waiting at the airport where I get my little snacks and magazines and tune out all the other boarding calls until mine comes. I don’t mind waiting at the doctor’s office, unless I have forgotten my book. See, I still savor feel of the soft paper pages of a real book between my fingers as I turn a page, so it’s easy to leave whatever I’m reading on the kitchen table or in the passenger seat of the car. I can wait well for Christmas and vacations. I’m usually pretty good with heavy traffic and long grocery lines with little old ladies using 73 coupons.

Sometimes it’s hard to wait upon the Lord.

God is infinite, and His mindset is eternal. When He promised Abram that his barren wife, Sarai, would bear a son, it took 25 years to see the fulfillment of that promise (Genesis 15:4-5). People are finite which limits our mindset. “Our days on earth are like grass; like wildflowers, we bloom and die. The wind blows, and we are gone—as though we had never been here” (Psalm 103:15-16, NLT). As time passed, frustration consumed Sarai. “So Sarai said to Abram, ‘The Lord has prevented me from having children. Go and sleep with my servant. Perhaps I can have children through her.’ And Abram agreed with Sarai’s proposal” (Genesis 16:2, NLT). Sarai was impatient and she looked for a way around God.

In Sarai, I see shades of Eve. Eve’s desire for equality with God led her to reject His plan and take matters into her own hands (Genesis 3:1-7, NLT). In me, I see shades of Sarai and Eve because sometimes I doubt God’s goodness, His plan, or His ability to carry it out. Yet, God is unmoved by Eve’s rebellion and Sarai’s doubt. My worry and impatience don’t change Him. Always, He is good and keeps His promises, but in His own time because “with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8, ESV).

Escaping the Trap of Impatience

Remembering Who God is and who I am, rescues me from the trap of impatience. He is God and I am not. God knows everything and I know little. The Lord is eternal and I’m like the grass of the field, here today and gone tomorrow. In the light of eternity, I can learn to appreciate the good wait.

Resting in the character of God reminds me that His timing is perfect. I can relax and leave the details to Him. I can trust Him to do good and to do it well.

Even youths shall faint and be weary,
and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:30-31, ESV

Finding the Good

This month we are #CuratingtheGood and this includes the good wait. What if the waiting itself serves a holy purpose for fellowshipping with God and receiving His comfort? What if the wait is a good teacher rather than an unkind master? The “good” wait here is the same Hebrew word we have been running into all month, Tôwb. Let’s look at today’s verse, keeping the Hebrew definition of good in mind:

The Lord is [a beautiful sight, a sweet taste, a pleasing tone] to those who wait for him,
to the soul who seeks him.
It is [excellent, delightful, lovely, satisfying] that one should wait quietly
for the salvation of the Lord.

Lam 3:25-26, ESV [plus me!]

Today, are you waiting on a diagnosis? Are you waiting with someone who is walking through a painful season? Maybe you are waiting for rescue from a difficult situation? Remember to wait the good wait — remind yourself that God is with you and that He promises you will experience Him in all His goodness as you seek Him and wait quietly!