Wait (Bulletin Article for March 25)

I don’t like waiting. When I have to wait for a traffic light or an appointment, it drives me up the wall. While I’m working on it, patience it not always my strongest attribute.

Some of you have waited for days or weeks for a very important phone call or doctor’s report. Those times seem to drag along, and cause many sleepless nights. Others wait to close on a house or for word about a promotion at work. These cause anxious moments as we think about our family and finances.

Now it’s my turn again. Billions over the years have waited for a child to be born. Excitement, nervousness and joy all take over (often at the same time), as hours turn into days. Women begin to feel as though “this baby” is never going to be born. Husbands wonder if they should just go about their everyday routine, or change it to be there for the wife in the last few (??) days.

As anxious as any of these situations are, sometimes nothing can compare to waiting for an answer from God to a prayer. We pray—earnestly pray—and, then…nothing seems to happen.

We are not asking for anything that we know God cannot do. We are not asking while lacking faith. We have asked God and now we want our answer.

But, sometimes the answer to our prayer is, “Let’s wait awhile.” For many, this may be our least-favorite answer to prayer. Sometimes, we would rather be told “no” than “wait.”

We always need to keep in mind that we are not on our own time-table; but God’s. He is in control, and we need to trust that He knows what is best for us. Sometimes that means…waiting.
And, sometimes, during that waiting period, other things will happen that will cause us to look to God. They will cause us to appreciate Him even more.

When we have to wait, whether for an earthly thing or an answer from God, let’s keep our faith strong in Him.