Are you in a holding pattern right now?
Waiting for things can be unpleasant. I dislike waiting in long lines or when the car in front of me isn’t paying attention when the advanced green light flashes, or when I order my coffee black and there’s cream and sugar in it!. Yes I realize these are small annoyances in the grand scheme of things, but they can add up.
Waiting for large scale life issues to resolve can be agonizing. Perhaps you’ve been praying for a new job? Maybe you’re on your knees daily for healing or relief from financial hardship? It could be that you’re begging God to restore your marriage or other close relationship? Whatever it is, have you ever thought it high time that God steps in and brings forth a divinely orchestrated resolution, but on your terms?
It can be arduous to keep at the task of prayer. We pray and sometimes God acts immediately. Whew! At other times, He allows our prayers to simmer on hold for weeks, months or even years. ‘Hold mode’ can be tough slugging, and as believers in Jesus Christ, we are not exempt from shedding tears of frustration as we await God’s deliverance from adversity. I’ll admit that waiting is not how I prefer to conduct business with heaven, and sometimes as God’s child I feel an entitlement to the front row of the rapid redemption line.
But you know as well as I that it doesn’t often play out that way.
Sometimes God has work to achieve in us before we’re able to grasp what He has planned for us. Waiting on the Lord allows Him the opportunity to draft up perfect blueprints for our lives and to clear away the logjams we so desperately seek answers for. And even when we don’t see God’s plan, we can know that waiting is always for our own good.
As I bide my time and hold for God to intervene in my own life, His word reminds me not to lose hope and never stop praying, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the Lord. ‘Plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.'” (Jeremiah 29:11 NIV) And this from 1 Thessalonians: “Always be joyful. Never stop praying. Be thankful in all circumstances.” (16, 17, 18, NIV)
Even when you feel its crunch time and you’re weary of God’s delay, I encourage you to remain steadfast in your belief, pray constantly and be patient as you trust! We can take comfort that during those ‘hurry up and wait moments’ in our lives, the Lord knows exactly what we need and when, bar none, every single time!
Jesus always has our best interests at the centre of His heart and will see to it that our waiting always ends in victory! “And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”(Romans 8:28 NIV)
Amen to that!
Paul Smyth
