I find myself waiting a lot these days. Boy, is it frustrating too! I want to make things happen. But I wait.
Why?
I am slowly learning that God often is doing good things in the waiting period that prepare me for the challenges when the wait is over.
For example, I started a ministry last year. I have worked really hard to make it succeed! Yet, it is small and growing slowly. I am waiting for ministry doors to swing open.
However, in the meantime, he has also led me to improve my marriage, deepen my relationship with him, and grow in writing skills. He wants me to have a strong foundation so I will be able to handle whatever challenges he has planned for me in the future.
Also, wonderful things can happen to our faith as we wait. “I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living” (Psalm 27:13). We can grow in expecting good from a good God before it happens.
We can also be delivered from our problems as we wait for God. “I waited patiently for the Lord;.. and He set my feet upon a rock making my footsteps firm” (Psalm 40:1-2). Instead of bullying our way through our problems in our own strength and often failing, we can learn to wait for his help.
Waiting on God can help us not to quit too soon. “And let us not lose heart in doing good, for in due time we shall reap, if we do not grow weary” (Galatians 6:9). A comfort to me in waiting on ministry results has been the reminder that “my toil is not in vain in the Lord (1 Corinthians 15:58).
Finally, waiting for God just makes sense. It is logical. “I am the vine, you are the branches; he who [lives] in Me, and I in him, he bears much fruit; for apart from Me you can do nothing” (John 15:5). That’s right! By not waiting on him, we can do nothing that truly serves God (1 Corinthians 3:10-15).
Therefore, let us learn to wait for God. It will be hard. We will need retraining to wait. “All [waiting] for the moment seems not to be joyful, but sorrowful; yet to those who have been trained by it, afterwards it yields the peaceful fruit of righteousness” (Hebrews 12:11).
So, what are you waiting on God for? Ask him to help you see the good that he is doing as you wait and give him thanks.
Journey into Lightl 
Waiting for “God’s time” can be very difficult. I find that I would rather be the dispatcher of justice rather than waiting for God. Who am I to make such a call? Why am I so impatient? What makes me think I can do it better than the Maker of the Universe? Why aren’t my questions being answered RIGHT NOW? 🙂
Hi Alan,
You seem to know the answers to your questions. Yet, waiting is still painful. I think it is the slow training process he is taking us all through to learn to trust him instead of our own wits and wisdom to run the universe.
Blessings!
Rich