“Waiting Matters”

December 8

Psalm 37:5-6 – “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.  Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

Impatience is rampant in our society.  I don’t know if we have become more impatient or if I have become more aware of it in my life and in those around me.  We want to be in the shortest checkout line or be served by the quickest barrista.  I was reminded of my impatience just today while I waited in the drive-through for doughnuts (for Sunday School no less)! 

Things like doughnuts and coffee are small compared to the waiting we must endure in our lives.  Waiting for a job, waiting for health results, and waiting for the pieces of life’s puzzle to be in place – these things cause us huge concerns.

This past summer, our daughter Kara had a huge job opportunity open for her but just as quickly, the door was shut.  Our hearts were broken for her.  The questions of why and why not were not easily answered, if answered at all.  I couldn’t understand how such a wonderful opportunity would be available, door after door amazingly open to be suddenly slammed shut.  It was during this time of confusion and pain that I came upon the above verse from Psalm 37.   

As much as my heart hurt for her, I still had belief that the LORD would be good.  If it were not for that fact, that truth, that He would be good, I could not have encouraged her to wait.  We had to know that if we wait, He will work.  While we didn’t know the whole picture, we had to wait on His timing.

The wise men certainly didn’t have the whole picture.  They had been waiting, they had been studying and now it was confirmed the King of the Jews had been born.  I think I would have become weary with waiting and watching night after night, day after day.  Yet, they were patient and waited for the sign – the star in the east. 

Soon after Kara’s heartbreaking loss, God spoke to her in an amazing way.  I don’t think she would have ever been in a position to hear this message if she had not been waiting – waiting to hear from God.  He spoke, not audibly, but through several key individuals who without any contact with each other had the same advice for her.  Seeking to be obedient to God’s direction, she took a completely different path than she would have previously taken.  At the time of this writing, she is still in a waiting position.  Many things in her life are still undecided and uncertain.  While it is easy to become impatient and hard to be patient, we can still wait for God’s leading.  At just the right time, the star appeared.  After hundreds of years of silence, the star appeared- right on time.  It will for Kara too!