If you are anything like me, or any other human that has ever walked this earth, chances are that you hate to wait. I know I do. And the reason is a mix of laziness and living in a culture of instant gratification. Sometimes I find myself or others around me asking these questions or similar ones:
Why should I wait on a home cooked meal when I can go to the drive through and get food instantly served to me?
Why wait in a line for a human to process my order, when I can go through the automatic check out?
Why should I go to the gym when I can take a fancy pill to help me lose weight?
Why read a book when I can just watch the movie?
Why pursue marriage and a relationship when I can just get a one night stand?
Why read my Bible and find out who God is, when I can have some charlatan tell me what I want to hear about God?
The above questions reflect this mentality of our culture of instant gratification. We simply refuse to work hard or wait for things to happen. We must have them NOW.
I've been caught up in these things myself over the past few months. It has taken its toll on me in many ways. See, I've stopped laboring so much in my personal life, because the results were not coming as soon as I want. This is especially so in the realm of waiting on God to fulfill His promises. I want those things NOW. It doesn't feel good enough to simply be promised them. I want God to give them to me. Right now.
How arrogant of me! How childish! And how utterly ridiculous, right?
It is especially ridiculous given all I have seen in my life. If I can say anything about my life, it is that God has fulfilled every promise that He has made me. I can go through my life as a believer and see how God has shown me favor.
It's funny; when I think like this, suddenly I can see the foolishness of my mindset and lifestyle. It is like I have completely disregarded all other things that God has done because I am not getting my way at this point in time.
I want to relate this to a Biblical story of some sort. There are plenty of obvious ones. Abraham was promised a son by God. He refused to wait on God, and took matters into his own hands. Joseph had to wait through many trials before his vision came true and his brothers bowed before him. Israel waited for a Messiah to come, and when He did, they rejected him. These are all typical stories of waiting on God. In all these stories, God promised something and it came true, in ways outside of human understanding, and outside of human control. Despite the flaws of some of these people, God still made the promises come true.
There is one story that I have found that is sticking out in my mind, outside of the one's above. You see, there was this boy who told that one day he would be the King. But from the time that he was anointed until the the time that he became king of all Israel, he waited somewhere around 15-20 years before he had his promised fulfilled. And this isn't just idle waiting. This is running from a crazed king. This is having inner struggles. This is waiting through periods of war and chaos.
I don't know about you, but I am pretty sure I would have given up after the first year or two. Seriously. I think many of us would have similar reactions. But David waited almost TWO DECADES to be King of Israel! Wow! When I think about that, I look at the promises God has made me, and I think to myself:
"Why am I having such a hard time waiting just the past few months?"
And it dawns on me with such a simple answer. The answer is that I don't have enough faith. Which, again, is utterly ridiculous. I have seen God come through for me in so many ways, even in the past year. How can I doubt that He would come through with those things that He has promised me?
I'd have to be a fool to remain in this state of doubt.
I need to be like the father of the boy in Mark chapter 9, and cry out "Lord, I believe; help me overcome my unbelief!" Because, the purpose of these promises is not to simply reward me, but that my faith can be tested and refined in the fire. Why? Because God is cruel? Not at all. God wants me to grow closer to Him. Time after time, I am given things I turn away from the Giver. But, in the time of waiting, I have seen my relationship grow. This time should be the same as those times.
I do believe that God will make good on His promises to me. Even if I must wait years, He will restore to me those things which faded away. But in that time, I know I must strive to not lose hope; to not lose faith. God has blessed me immensely in the past. And he has blessed me the most with His presence while I wait.
"The longer the wait, the sweeter the reward" is a variant of something I was told before. But in this case, the reward is not simply what is at the end of this road I am traveling. It is the journey that I am taking, with God. This is why I am choosing to wait on God, in peace and with faith.
God has never steered me wrong. He never will.
I pray others will come to know this truth in their own life.
Blessings,
Thomas
