Becoming a patient person is challenging when you are someone who doesn’t like to wait. I don’t like long lines, people who come late to meetings, or slow drivers in the left lane. I often feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, “I’m late. I’m late. For a very important date!” Truth is, most of us are impatient. We’ve become accustomed to getting things now. But lately, our patience has been tested in new ways.
To wait often requires stillness or quietness and a slowing down. Even so, waiting is an active not passive process. When we wait, we trust that the pause will bear fruit. Like a child who eagerly waits for Easter morning to find the hidden basket, good things come to those who wait.
Not surprisingly, the act of waiting is addressed multiple times in the Bible. God knows that when we become impatient, we tend to complain or grumble. But when we wait on the Lord, we trust that God is working on our behalf. Waiting builds our faith and produces perseverance and endurance. Scripture tells us to wait and not grow faint. Run, but don’t grow weary. And during the waiting, God will renew our strength.
Waiting requires an expectancy. We wait for help, for vaccines and for a slowdown of the virus. But in reality, our expectancy is in the Lord, trusting Him to work in our favor while we do what we can. So, while we wait for a return to some sense of normalcy, trust the One who holds it all in His hands. If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us? If His ways are truly perfect, then we can be patient and trust Him.
During this time of waiting, remember that God is still listening to our cries for help. He is involved in our world and not distant and uninvolved. And while we don’t understand suffering and difficulty, we also don’t have the big picture of what is being accomplished behind the scenes. Therefore, trust in His sovereignty. His timing is always the right timing.
During this time of waiting, be strong and take courage. And do not lose your hope in Christ who teaches us to stand on His promises and be assured of eternal blessings.