Why Patiently Waiting

I have been going through what is undoubtedly the most difficult time of life: A period of waiting.  It may sound odd, but those other precious souls who have walked this same road understand that waiting can be one of the most arduous things one has to endure.  It is undoubtedly the most trying of the spiritual disciplines.  And the difficulty is compounded when God has made you a promise, but then requires you to wait for the fulfillment of that promise.

We will all have waiting periods during our lives.  Those waiting periods may be as simple as waiting for our order to come up at our favorite restaurant, waiting in the line at the grocery store, or waiting for our coffee to brew at home.  Those waiting periods may be as challenging as waiting for test results from our doctor’s office, waiting for the right man or woman to come into our lives, or waiting for the Lord to bless us with children.  The bottom line is we will wait.

I have personally waited far more than I ever hoped to, wanted to, or thought was realistic of my very “get to it” personality.  Sometimes I waited well, and I sensed the Lord was pleased with my spiritual maturity.  Other times I didn’t wait so well, looking more like my friend’s two year old throwing a temper tantrum than the adult woman I am, because the Lord was not abiding by my time-table.  On those occasions, I have a feeling the Lord looked down at me shook His head, knowing there was a lot more work to be done on this feeble vessel!

In my periods of waiting well, or at least with the proper attitude, I researched the concept of waiting and did my best to learn everything I could about it.  Some of the key questions I asked included the following: What is it?  Why does God make us wait? What does waiting require of us? What are the consequences of not waiting? How should we wait? And what are God’s promises if we are willing to wait on Him?

I researched “Waiting,” “Waiting on God,” “Waiting Faithfully,” “Waiting Well,” “God’s Promises,” and the list goes on.  As I collected page after page of information, the Lord began to give me “waiting examples” that I knew I was supposed to capture.  So I did, and then one day, I felt the Lord leading me to put all that He had revealed to me in one place as a source of hope and encouragement for those of you who are about to enter a significant period of waiting, for those of you who are in the middle of one now, and for those of you who are loving someone else through a period of waiting.

I have often found that “Thoughts disentangle themselves when they pass through our fingertips.” So I hope, in this case, that the many thoughts that have been sprinting through my head over the last year do actually become disentangled as they pass through my fingertips.

I have traveled down this road you are walking, and I know how excruciatingly difficult it is.  I know that many people don’t understand what you are going through, but I do.  My heart breaks for the struggle and the frustration that each day can represent for you.  Yet, my heart soars for all I know that God will teach you during this time, and how He will love you in ways that you have never been loved before.

We are on this journey together and I promise that is not a dead end!  Eventually, our waiting will come to an end, we will see God’s purpose in the process, and we will find that the blessings of obediently waiting for God will leave us simply breathless.

By God’s Grace,

Rachel