Waiting

Waiting. Story of our lives, right?

Waiting to turn sixteen. Waiting to meet “the one.” Waiting for Pumpkin Spice Latte season (which the folks at Starbucks have actually decided we shouldn’t have to wait as long for anymore).

In our instant gratification world, waiting is incredibly undervalued (hello, Christmas decorations in September).

Okay, okay, I’m being cheeky – but the truth is this kind of “shortcut” approach to waiting, in general, is real. And where it hurts us most is in those seasons of waiting when the end is nowhere in sight.

When we’re waiting on answers that seem like they’ll never come.

In seasons of waiting, we can find ourselves becoming totally consumed by the process. Each day we wake up, heart racing, wondering if today will be the day. We half-heartedly press through our agenda, just a little less engaged and a little less patient (okay, a lot less) than we’d like to be. And as another unfruitful day draws to a close, we collapse into bed, disappointed and disillusioned by the seemingly endless struggle.

(A struggle that appears only to yield to yet another night of restless sleep.)

If this is you, you’re not alone. Trust me, I get it! As a single mom in a season of transition myself, my life is full of waiting. In your season of waiting, the question I have for you is this­ – what exactly is it you’re waiting on?

When we wait on outcomes, we tend to look at circumstances. We look at every little detail as some kind of omen that the end is in sight.

(FYI – this is a surefire way to end up riding the most wretched rollercoaster of life. Like the rickety-old-wooden-coaster-at-the-end-of-the-pier kind of life.)

But it doesn’t have to be like this. 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” (ESV).

Can you imagine that? Waking up with the most uncertain of circumstances looming over your head thinking, “You know, I feel like I could fly with the eagles today!”

It’s kind of a cool visual.

When we realize that God is both incredibly good and totally in control, we can get off that bumpy old rollercoaster and take in what He is up to in each day. He empowers us to shift our focus from what IS NOT happening to what IS. And by His grace, the waiting suddenly becomes the most beautiful experience of watching of the Master’s glorious plan unfold, in His impeccably perfect timing.

I don’t know about you, but that renews my strength just thinking about it.

The funny part about all this is that God is always at work in our lives, whether we choose to acknowledge it or not. But how, and whether, you experience God in the process is up to you.