The other day my sister and I were on our way to a store. We took off and immediately encountered a slow driver taking his sweeeet time turning right into a convenience store. Now my sissy, she can be a cra driver. I mean not in the road rage kind of way, but in the, I’ll- cut-you-off-before-you-cut-me-off kind of way. So she swerved around him quickly so that we wouldn’t have to wait behind him, but then we caught a red light. We were already in a bit of a rush so she took a “detour” to the left instead of waiting at the red light. Her theory was let’s take the “short-cut” which we all know, is never really a short-cut. So of course, we turned left and continued on, then we made another right, then another left. I don’t remember how many other turns we made, but they were all in effort to not wait and to get to our destination faster. The funny thing about this is, we still ended up on the exact same route and the exact same street as if we had just continued on straight through from the very beginning. Instead of getting there faster we ended up a little frazzled, definitely a little nauseas and not at all faster than if we’d just waited at the red lights. Actually I think our little short-cut put us behind a little!

The truth is, we hate waiting. I don’t think anyone is good at waiting. People can claim to be good listeners, good stewards, good whatever, but good at waiting? Hardly anyone says that they are good at that. We hate waiting in lines, waiting for packages to arrive, waiting for our flights, just waiting period. In today’s society, waiting is looked at like an ancient form of art, outdated and unnecessary. I’ve definitely bought into this theory with my instant messages and my faster than lighting downloads. It’s no news to me. Waiting is foreign. I know that I am NOT good at waiting. And yet I feel that in this season of my life, the Lord is teaching me that waiting is exactly the form of art that He wants me to excel in. To this I feel like saying, #ain’tnobodygottimeforthat . But I don’t necessarily want to get struck down in defiance so, I’m delving into it.

The dictionary defines wait/waiting as:

1. To remain inactive or in a state of repose, as until something expected happens

2. To be available or in readiness

3. To look forward to eagerly.

I don’t view waiting in this way. To me, waiting is losing out, being inactive, or letting go of control. Waiting’s for chumps. And yet, the Lord has so much to say about waiting. Biblically speaking, waiting is good! Lamentations 3:25 says,

The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.

And Isaiah 40:31 says,

...but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

Instead of being devoid of action, waiting is a blessing. So then why is it so hard for me? The more I think about it, the more I realize, waiting’s not for those who have given up. If anything, waiting is for those who are disciplined, who are ready to learn something from the Lord and receive the blessings he has for them.

My nature pushes against this though. I want to be proactive, to get things done, to get there faster. Nobody has time to wait at the red light when we can take our short-cuts and get there faster. But the Lord has his own plan. At one time or another, we are all going to have a season of waiting. Waiting for that job, for that big move, for that house or that car, or for that relationship. Basically, waiting for the Lord to answer our prayers. We all go through it but it’s in the how we wait that makes the difference. We can wait patiently in “repose” as the dictionary meaning said, or we can choose to not wait, and take all of our short-cuts to make it seem as if we are getting somewhere, only to end up at the same spot.

Like I mentioned, I’m in a season of waiting. I know that one day I’m going to have the season of go-go-go! But for now, I’m sitting at the red light. I don’t always like it; as a matter of fact, sometimes I hate it. But it’s what the Lord is asking of me, with his gentle wait-on-me pressing on my heart. Waiting takes a lot of energy and it’s actually not for chumps. I know this because otherwise why would the Lord ask us to be brave when waiting??

Psalm 27:14. If you too are waiting on the Lord, take heart. #1. You’re not alone (the Lord is with you), nor are you the only one (we can be waiting-buddies!), #2. Jesus knows this! He has not forgotten you at that red light, and #3. As you wait you are becoming stronger, bolder, wiser! ☺ Have a great week as you hurry up and wait on the Lord!