Waiting is not something in this society we do well. Everything is quick or instant. Our world around us and technology offers us instant updates, instant messages, fast downloads, real time emails no matter where you are, instant rewards, minute meals, overnight shipping, instant cash loans, complete automation of tasks, and even five-minute devotionals.
We live in a period of time where instant gratification is possible for most things and we can automate aspects of our life so we don’t have to think about it later. Sounds great … right?
Well what about when it comes to our relationship with God. God isn’t driven by time and space. As a result, our daily demands of “now” flow into our relationship with God and its hard not to experience a clash in the two ways of living life. Before we know it, our question of Why isn’t God answering my prayer flows into How long do I have to wait and progresses to Where are you God?
How quickly our thoughts progress from one to the other. We perceive waiting further on God implies His abandonment or else permission to go ahead with our own idea. But in reality, God isn’t concerned with “instant” but rather growth, intimacy with Him, and obedience to His Will for us. Clearly that can’t be accomplished in an instant or by automation.
Our move to North Carolina wasn’t instant but required much waiting … over two years of waiting. There were times we felt nothing was happening and questioned whether we heard God right, other days we fought discouragement. But we still clung to God in faith (some days just barely) knowing He HAD to be at work even though we couldn’t see any progress.
We now see that what we learned in that time of waiting couldn’t have been learned any other way. Not only did we grow closer together as a family, grow in our individual walks with God and our faith, but God also developed things within us that were all preparation for what He had ready for us once we moved.
Having now lived here for nearly six months, we are still continuing to see God’s answers to prayer from that time of waiting wondering if in His silence, He was listening. God has allowed us to see some of the incredible behind the scenes working that He was doing all along. We just smile, shake our heads, and are just amazed at how He thought of everything! Had we given up or jumped ahead of Him, we would have missed out on what He planned for us.
No matter what we’re going through, God is at work in us and our situations—even if it appears nothing is happening. He hears our prayers instantly but at times we must wait for God to work out His answer.
Our question in the waiting shouldn’t be How long do I have to wait or Where are you God but instead What would you have me learn about You today Lord. It may be growth or healing He’s trying to work in us or it may be just a lesson in faith and trust in God. He never sleeps or slumbers but is always at work on our behalf.
Waiting may be contrary to our daily life, but it’s what God commands us to do sometimes when we allow Him to be in the driver’s seat.