Waiting
Waiting… I hate waiting. I don’t hate many things in life but waiting is one of those. It seems so pointless, so nonproductive, so frustrating and yet much of life is waiting. Go to the doctor’s office, you wait. Go to the amusement park, you wait and then wait some more.
According to a Timex survey, Americans wait:
on average of 20 minutes a day for the bus or train
32 minutes whenever they visit a doctor
28 minutes in security lines whenever they travel
21 minutes for a significant other to get ready to go out
13 hours annually waiting on hold for a customer service
38 hours each year waiting in traffic
= about 37 billion hours each year waiting in line somewhere.
One thing I’ve learned about following Jesus is you will wait on Him. In reading the Gospels, I realized that Jesus was never in a hurry. When told the news that his friend Lazarus was dying, he waited 4 days. When he was told by a father that the father’s daughter was dying, he stopped to render aid to a woman. He was never in a rush. Now this could be looked upon as rudeness and many times in our lives we are rude when we make others wait, but Jesus was never being rude. He knew that doing things at the right time was important. With Lazarus, He was waiting to display the power of God by raising Lazarus from the dead, same with the man’s daughter. Jesus had divine appointments that required exact timing.
In my role as a pastor and leader of a church, I have often been given a glimpse of the vision God has for me and the church, (and I say glimpse because that is all God gives, He expects me to trust Him for the rest). That vision often gets me excited and ready to move but that vision often includes times of waiting. You would think that God would want to get that vision moving to accomplish His purpose, but I have found that there is great purpose in the waiting itself.
In the Fellowship of the Ring, one of my favorite movies, there is a scene where the fellowship is stuck in the mines of Moria because Gandalf has forgotten the way to go; so they wait and they get bored and they want to get moving but Gandalf waits until he remembers. Gandalf is far wiser than any of the other members of the fellowship and he knows that to continue to travel forward, not knowing where you’re going is dangerous and can lead to more lost time. Like Gandalf, Jesus tells us to wait because He knows where he’s leading and we don’t.
I have found that the waiting serves a purpose. In the waiting, God is preparing me for the task ahead. He’s getting my heart, my character, my abilities, my maturity ready for what’s next. He’s bringing together the right people, the right resources, and the right conditions that are needed to move the vision forward, I have a situation going on right now where it’s tough to just sit still, to just be patient, but I am forced to as every door seems closed. When the doors are closed stop and wait.
Waiting does not mean do nothing. Waiting does not mean be lazy. There are still things to do in the waiting. In May of 1989, Janet was pregnant with our first child and as we came near the time of birth, we had a lot to do and just because we were waiting for labor to start didn’t mean there wasn’t anything to do. We had to get the room ready, the diaper bag packed, clothes laid out and her bag packed. When you’re waiting on God, do what you can do. Study, pray, serve people, witness - do the things you are called to do and wait for him.
One of my life verses is Galatians 6:9 it says Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up. Don’t give up if your waiting- you’ll miss the blessing if you do.
