Patiently waiting on God ... well, not so patiently waiting

In a society that is constantly on the move we sure have to wait a lot! We wait at a traffic light. We have only 1 item to purchase at the grocery store, we are in the “express” lane only to have the individual in front of us needing to have one of their items “price checked”. We are at one of the amusement parks and have to wait an hour in line to take the 2-minute ride. We filed an amended tax year turn for 2008 back in January 2010, the refund has been approved, but we are still waiting for our money. We make a telephone call to a company, they put us on hold and continue to tell us that they will be with us shortly … even after 30-minutes on hold. It seems that our entire life is in the hurry-up-and-hold mode. No matter what we do or how we do it we have to wait.

While I am not an impatient person and can quietly sit in the doctor’s office waiting for my “appointment” which was more than 45-minutes ago, something does well-up from within when all I seem to do is wait for others, for answers, for solutions, for tomorrow. How long, oh Lord, how long … especially when I am waiting for an answer to a prayer, to a Kingdom issue in my life, to a God-directed purpose … how long, oh Lord, how long indeed?

And then I read about Abraham and Sarah. They had been given a promise of a child. They were getting up in years. They waited. Abraham got impatient. Had a child with a handmaiden. Abraham’s decision was outside of God’s plan. He should have waited. But, God, I’m getting old. Time is running out. Sarah passed the childbearing years long ago. We prayed, you promised, we waited, but nothing happened. One year merged into two years which became 5 and then 10, 20 … 25. Twenty-five years is a long time to wait … especially when you already have one foot in the grave.

Can I wait that long to realize God’s promises in my life? Do I need to be that patient? How do you pass the time when you are waiting for the fulfillment of a God-promise? Is it true that God fulfills his promises even if it takes a lifetime? Could it be really true that God gives exactly what we need when we need it – no sooner … no later … and in direct response to our prayers? All we have to wait …

Hmmmm, I am not an impatient person, but sometimes I do get tired of waiting … even waiting on God to “do” his thing. Sometimes I get tired of praying about an issue or situation. I know that I am to pray continually and unceasing … but this waiting stuff is just a little hard to take ... hard to understand.

Maybe I am really a kin to St. Augustine who prayed for patience, but demanded it “right now.”

Welcome to the club of those waiting for answers from God, as well as the fulfillment of Divine promises!

Quote for today: Waiting for God is not laziness. Waiting for God is not going to sleep. Waiting for God is not the abandonment of effort. Waiting for God means, first, activity under command; second, readiness for any new command that may come; third, the ability to do nothing until the command is given. ~G. Campbell Morgan