During any given day I can be heard saying “Just wait!” or “Be patient!” repeatedly (probably in a not-so-patient voice). When you live with a five-year-old, you are well aware that waiting is tough. Whether it is waiting for juice to be poured or jackets to be on so everyone is ready for a walk, or the longer wait required for birthday celebrations, waiting is no easy feat. For the little waits that are just part of any day, we try to distract our children. For the long waits, we might make countdown calendars or charts. We often feel impatient with our children’s lack of patience. Interesting, huh? Impatient with impatience.
Lack of patience is a common struggle. We are called upon to have patience with our children, our spouse, strangers who do not understand our children’s special needs, and many others. In some ways we have to be more patient than parents with typical kids. We spend oodles and oodles of our time waiting for medical professionals. We also might spend a very long time waiting for our children to do things that take their peers far less time. The struggle can make us weary. However, more difficult than needing patience with other humans, and more dangerous to our faith, is when we are lacking patience with our God.
There are times when God calls on us to wait. We know that His timing is perfect and that His plan is being carried out. This knowledge helps us with waiting, but often it is still difficult. Sometimes, when we know what we want to happen in our lives, we plan and scheme to make it happen. We succumb to the “get it now” ideology. However, Psalm 37:7-9 directs us to “be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil. For evil men will be cut off, but those who hope in the LORD will inherit the land.” This waiting that God expects of us is still not easy, but we are encouraged not to worry. Those who hope in the Lord will inherit the land!
Right now, my family’s life is in a season of waiting. We are waiting for our house to sell, waiting for our adoption process to move along, waiting for our annual visit to Germany, waiting for kindergarten for Sophia, and waiting for Liam to move on to the public school system. Wait, wait, wait. Some of these waits are well defined and have a clear end result. Others, like the adoption and selling the house, have time frames and results that are known only by God. This is not an easy way for me to wait. I like to know the time frame and the end result. I keep thinking if I could just get a quick snapshot of my family five years down the road, maybe I could relax about all of this. It was easier for me to trust in God when we had a devastating new diagnosis for Liam, repeated hospital visits, and nonstop respiratory problems to deal with. When I felt that God was my only hope, it was natural for me to look to Him. Now I must daily read Scripture that reminds me WHO is in control and that He is always worth the wait. When I try to do things my way, to push my will ahead of God’s, it will often make a mess. Matters become more complicated.
We can remember the great example of waiting on the Lord that is given to us in the account of Abraham and Sarah. God had promised them that the Savior would come from their line. Yet time passed and passed . . . and passed, and they remained childless. They were getting older. Their friends became parents, and still Abraham and Sarah were childless. Their friends became grandparents, and STILL Abraham and Sarah remained childless. I can imagine that it was excruciatingly painful to want a child so desperately. Yet they had been promised by God . . . As time went on and on, their faith in His promise weakened, and so Sarah brought Hagar, her handmaiden, into the picture. Sarah succumbed to the “get it now” mentality. This led to trouble later on, when God’s promise to Sarah and Abraham had been fulfilled and Isaac was growing up. Sarah was distressed about the inheritance. She wanted Abraham to send away Ishmael, the son that she encouraged him to father with Hagar, so that she would not need to worry. What a mess - two sons from two women . . . one inheritance. Not an easy situation!
No, we haven’t sent our husbands a handmaiden, but have we gone against our consciences at times in order to get our way? Have we trucked ahead with a plan without taking the time to pray about it and see what God’s Word has to say to us? I don’t know about you, but I sure have. The good news: God works through us anyway AND He forgives us. Look again at Abraham and Sarah. Yep, they messed things up, but God still sent the Savior from their line. God loved them and they loved God. Abraham and Sarah’s sin caused a big tangled mess here on earth, but it was washed away when Jesus died. Fully forgiven. Our sins are washed away as well. We are fully forgiven and God continues to work through us, despite our sins.
The real truth is that those of us who get tired of waiting for God become worn down by the waiting. The thoughts of our desires eat at our trust in the Lord. As time goes by, more and more trust is eroded by these thoughts, and soon we find ourselves acting out of impatience as Sarah did. When we feel our trust eroding, we should recall Isaiah’s words: “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint” (40:30, 31).
So, who will help us wait on our God? Who will lift us up when we want to start dragging in the handmaidens? GOD! The one we are waiting for has a plan. He knows what is best and will always do just that. He is with us through our wait. He will help us to soar on wings like eagles. What an amazing picture! God will renew our strength! At times when we are feeling that erosion, we need to turn to the Bible. The Holy Spirit works in us to strengthen us whenever we are hearing or reading God’s Word. We will be renewed through His word. God gives us a church family and Christian friends. We also are renewed through encouragement from them.
Let us not lose our hope in the God who is so faithful that He always follows through. Let us not lose our faith in the God who is all-knowing and will invariably do what is best. Let us not lose our faith in the God who loves us so much that He sacrificed His own dear Son for us! Our God is always worth the wait! If we hope in our God, we will not grow weary. The Lord will renew our strength!
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