God isn’t a stressed-out parent trying to deal with begging and pressure.
I’m bad at waiting. Actually, I hate to wait. I’m a foot-tapping, sighing, oh-my-gosh-I’m-going-to-die-here waiter. When I was a kid, the worst possible answer from my parents was, “Let me think about it.” Or the equally disturbing, “I’ll talk to your father.” Every kid knows that’s the answer that is no answer. It goes nowhere. Parents always forget, and if you remind them they usually say, “I forgot to ask, I’ll let you know.”
In my faith walk, I’m realizing waiting has purpose. God’s up to something good in my life. But that doesn’t mean I like it. Throughout the Bible, there are stories about waiting. God’s people waited four hundred years to hear from Him, Sarah waited until she was in her nineties to have a child, Noah waited for more than eighty years for a storm, the Israelites waited forty years to enter the Promised Land, and God waited three days to resurrect His Son.
If I let Him, God does a lot in the space and time I call waiting. Although waiting is painful and difficult and can sometimes feel endless—and there are no guarantees—God grows my trust while I learn to let go and trust Him with the answer. Later, as I look back and see His answer was perfect, it grows my faith. When there seems to be no answer and only silence, God grows my dependence. He lovingly uses waiting to prepare me. He goes before me, and His timing is perfect. He never fails and is always right on time.
I’m learning to express myself to God and remind myself He hears me, loves me, and works all things for my good—even if the outcome isn’t what I hope for. The challenge is to hold on and trust while I’m waiting for the test results to come back, while I’m waiting to have and hold a child, while I’m waiting for my loved one to come home and get sober, while I’m waiting for love, or while I’m waiting for a relationship to be restored.
Trust, worship, love, and serve God while you wait. And try not to tap your foot.
(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)
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Liz Petruzzi is a beach, dog, and coffee lover who believes God’s love is for everyone – but doesn’t have all the answers. “I don’t know why God doesn’t always answer our prayers—our good prayers—the way we hope. I do believe He is good, loving, and compassionate. I believe there is much I don’t understand and God’s definition of good is bigger and greater than mine. I don’t think a human brain can comprehend a divine one.” Liz writes about life and faith on her blog lizpetruzzi.com and loves to connect with people who wrestle with both. Liz can also be found on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.