I am going to be upfront and honest here - I hate waiting. I am just as guilty as the next person when it comes to our give-it-to-me-now attitudes. I won't order something online because I don't want to wait for it to be delivered, and I am a giant disappointment to my friends who have sold Mary Kay, or Avon, or whatever else it may be, because if I am going to buy it, I want to immediately have it in my hands to use or enjoy right then. I am a terrible clearance shopper when it comes to clothes, because I don't want to by winter clothes in the summer and have to wait to wear those great new boots! I relate more than I want to admit to the ever-so spoiled Veruca Salt, from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory, when she demands "But I want an Oompa Loompa now Daddy! Give it to me now!
I am pretty sure I am not alone here, although I readily admit some people are better at being patient than I am. They have learned to appreciate the wait, eagerly anticipating their boxes being delivered from UPS, or enjoying the Christmas season without the frenzy of Christmas shopping because they waited to give that perfect gift. (I always plan to do this, then decide the person MUST have the gift before Christmas or their birthday. After all, they shouldn't have to wait either!)
So of course, God being gracious and wanting to strengthen me in my areas of weakness (read that with a touch of sarcasm, because while I know that God is absolutely right in this, I don't actually like it much at all!) I have found myself waiting. For a lot. Waiting for things much more valuable to me than new electronics, makeup or clothes. To be honest, I don't think God minds that I don't want to wait for a new mascara or pair of shoes, he made me and He gets my personality. It's the bigger things, the plans, dreams and calling on my life where we are called to wait, and this makes it so much harder, because these are the desires of our hearts. But waiting is so worth it! The Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:4 that God is working on our behalf when we wait for Him:
Since before time began, no one had ever imagined, no ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you who works for those who wait for him. Isaiah 64:4
So how do we wait? One thing I have learned about God is that He never asks us to do something without a purpose, and often a lesson. And here is one I have learned about the dreaded "waiting"...
Waiting is an action word. At least when God has called for the waiting. He doesn't want us to sit on the couch waiting for a special delivery of all of His promises wrapped sweetly with a bow. We are to do what we know to do, while trusting God will deliver on His end
A little over a year ago, the kids and I were able to get new furniture. I was super excited that the couch and recliner could be delivered that night, (just a short wait, woohoo!) but we had some preparing to do in the meantime. The old couches had to be moved out, and the clutter that had gathered, like lost socks, bobby pins and cookie crumbs, had to be picked up. Then we needed to do a little deeper cleaning, as our precious Gus sheds like crazy and his hair had to all be cleaned up. There was enough to make throw pillows for the new furniture! It was pretty gross what had gathered in the unseen abyss of "under the couch". And then, some rearranging had to be done, so that the new furniture would fit right in with the stuff that was still good and we were hanging on to.
I am sure you can see where I am going with this. While we are waiting for God to deliver on His promises, we have some preparing to do. We need to let go of the old stuff, the sins, attitudes, or habits that are in the way of the new things God has for us. We need to declutter, and get rid of any crumbs leftover from what used to be. Some of us need to do deeper cleaning, getting rid of the dirt and grime that has settled in the deepest corners of our hearts and allow old wounds to be healed so that we have a fresh place for God's new blessings to land.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test ne and know my anxious thoughts. See is there any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
And finally, we may need to rearrange some things. We get rid of anything that does not mesh with God and his word, but not everything needs to be thrown out, God has already blessed our lives with some necessary and beautiful things. We simply may need to check our priorities and control what we are filling our lives with, so that God is our first priority. We need to ask ourselves, do we have the space for what we are asking God to do in our lives? We have to leave Him room to work and give him a ready place to deliver those promises.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
I am pretty sure I am not alone here, although I readily admit some people are better at being patient than I am. They have learned to appreciate the wait, eagerly anticipating their boxes being delivered from UPS, or enjoying the Christmas season without the frenzy of Christmas shopping because they waited to give that perfect gift. (I always plan to do this, then decide the person MUST have the gift before Christmas or their birthday. After all, they shouldn't have to wait either!)
So of course, God being gracious and wanting to strengthen me in my areas of weakness (read that with a touch of sarcasm, because while I know that God is absolutely right in this, I don't actually like it much at all!) I have found myself waiting. For a lot. Waiting for things much more valuable to me than new electronics, makeup or clothes. To be honest, I don't think God minds that I don't want to wait for a new mascara or pair of shoes, he made me and He gets my personality. It's the bigger things, the plans, dreams and calling on my life where we are called to wait, and this makes it so much harder, because these are the desires of our hearts. But waiting is so worth it! The Bible tells us in Isaiah 64:4 that God is working on our behalf when we wait for Him:
Since before time began, no one had ever imagined, no ear heard, no eye seen, a God like you who works for those who wait for him. Isaiah 64:4
So how do we wait? One thing I have learned about God is that He never asks us to do something without a purpose, and often a lesson. And here is one I have learned about the dreaded "waiting"...
Waiting is an action word. At least when God has called for the waiting. He doesn't want us to sit on the couch waiting for a special delivery of all of His promises wrapped sweetly with a bow. We are to do what we know to do, while trusting God will deliver on His end
A little over a year ago, the kids and I were able to get new furniture. I was super excited that the couch and recliner could be delivered that night, (just a short wait, woohoo!) but we had some preparing to do in the meantime. The old couches had to be moved out, and the clutter that had gathered, like lost socks, bobby pins and cookie crumbs, had to be picked up. Then we needed to do a little deeper cleaning, as our precious Gus sheds like crazy and his hair had to all be cleaned up. There was enough to make throw pillows for the new furniture! It was pretty gross what had gathered in the unseen abyss of "under the couch". And then, some rearranging had to be done, so that the new furniture would fit right in with the stuff that was still good and we were hanging on to.
I am sure you can see where I am going with this. While we are waiting for God to deliver on His promises, we have some preparing to do. We need to let go of the old stuff, the sins, attitudes, or habits that are in the way of the new things God has for us. We need to declutter, and get rid of any crumbs leftover from what used to be. Some of us need to do deeper cleaning, getting rid of the dirt and grime that has settled in the deepest corners of our hearts and allow old wounds to be healed so that we have a fresh place for God's new blessings to land.
Search me, God, and know my heart; test ne and know my anxious thoughts. See is there any offensive way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting. Psalm 139:23-24
And finally, we may need to rearrange some things. We get rid of anything that does not mesh with God and his word, but not everything needs to be thrown out, God has already blessed our lives with some necessary and beautiful things. We simply may need to check our priorities and control what we are filling our lives with, so that God is our first priority. We need to ask ourselves, do we have the space for what we are asking God to do in our lives? We have to leave Him room to work and give him a ready place to deliver those promises.
Let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for he who promised is faithful. Hebrews 10:23
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