#16 Why Waiting Sucks!!!!
Last week, I stopped at Target after work because I needed to pick up a few things. I walked in, knew exactly what I needed, grabbed them, and began to make my way to the checkout counter. Approaching the front of the store, my stomach began to churn as I realized the final task that was before me. In front of me were no less than 20 people, all with carts filled to the brim with products waiting to be emptied into plastics bags and escorted out of the store. It felt like an hour had passed before my turn came. The cashier rang up my 3 items, bagged them, and I quickly left the store. Looking back, I discovered something about myself that I had never considered in the past. I REALLY HATE WAITING.
Okay, so I know that last sentence seems like a, “no duh, everybody hates waiting” moment. But, let me pose it in a different way that you may not have ever considered before. Have you ever found yourself praying and asking God for something you want or need? In Christian circles, the general consensus is that God typically answers prayers in 3 different ways: yes, no, and wait. Personally, I prefer the yes or no answers because they provide immediate feedback to my request. It gives me a sort of closure that allows me to move on with whatever I was doing, or pivot based on God’s answer. Waiting, however, is a different beast. There is no immediate feedback, and you are left wondering whether you prayed the right thing or made the right decision. What’s even worse is that sometimes, the opportunity we prayed for is right in front of us, but it might not be the right time for us to grasp it.
Let’s take David for example. He was a figure in the Old Testament who was destined to replace Saul as the King of Israel. Now, Saul was not a fan of this and decided to hunt David and his men across the land. Night after night, David prayed that God would deliver him and his men from the enemy, Saul. Well, he had an opportunity to answer his own prayer. One day, Saul had gone into a cave to relieve himself and didn’t realize that David was hiding at the back of that cave with his men. With the temptation of ending the king’s life before him, and the urging of his men to commit the deed, David exercised another option altogether. He tore off a piece of Saul’s clothing in the darkness so that Saul wouldn’t notice. Then, when Saul left the cave, David approached him and told him that he could’ve taken his life had he wanted to. David recognized that even though the opportunity was presented to him, the time had not yet come to ask. His maturity and trust in God assured him that when the time was right, God would move to make David king.
Back to waiting; what we see from David is an exercise in trust. See, waiting requires that we forfeit our belief that our timeline is the most important one in the world. It requires that we relinquish our self-importance and accept that we can not control anything. Instead, we rest humbly in the presence of God knowing that he cares for his sons and daughters. Have you prayed about anything you need or want recently? If so, it’s okay to ask God for it, but we must learn to trust his answers and his timing. Waiting sucks because it reveals how powerless we can be in life, but there are lessons to be learned in waiting. Whether you are relying on God to answer your prayers about a spouse, a new job, an opportunity, or whatever it may be, He may tell you to wait. Instead of comparing yourself to the accolades of others, or dwelling on what/who you don’t have, rest in the present and be thankful for that which you have been given. There’s a reason why Jesus tells us to “not worry about tomorrow.” While you wait on God’s answer, do not live in tomorrow; live in His glory, providence, protection, and provision He has given you today. Let Him deal with your tomorrow.
