Photo Credit: Charbel Akhras via Creative Commons

[dropcaps style=”]W[/dropcaps]e were sitting around the table on a Friday- waiting. Waiting for someone to come so one person could go on an adventure. Waiting for someone else to carry on with their day. The clock seemed to slowly make its way around, minute by minute. Waiting characterizes so much of our everyday lives. I will be the first to admit. I don’t always wait well. Long lines at a restaurant, traffic that slows you down, or people running late to meetings can be highly inconvenient. We are forced to learn to wait in the everyday moments of our lives.

Waiting for a Different Season

When we come to waiting on the Lord, we can white-knuckle our way through seasons where we struggle to make sense of our present reality. We wrestle and struggle with surrendering our will to God’s will at work in our lives. This way is a hard way to live.

 

There is a better way than white-knucking our way through seasons that seem to cause us to wait indefinitely.

 

The Israelites had their own experience with waiting. However, when Moses was talking about the Promised Land, he said, “For the land you are about to enter and take over is not like the land of Egypt from which you came, where you planted your seed and made irrigation ditches with your foot as in a vegetable garden. Rather, the land you will soon take over is a land of hills and valleys with plenty of rain— a land that the Lord your God cares for. He watches over it through each season of the year!” (Deuteronomy 11:10-12 NLT) God was watching over the place they were going before they got there. He was well aware of the season that was coming. 

 

Waiting may actually be more fun than we realize when we are waiting. If you are planning a trip, part of the fun is researching places to go and things to do. In waiting for a new job, new house, new season, anticipation builds within our hearts. There is something beautiful and overwhelming about waiting in the middle, trying to finding our way. God did not intend for us to allow seasons of waiting to build resentment or frustration in our hearts. Waiting is building something in us; it causes us to anticipate the goodness of God. Life is busy, and waiting can seem highly inconvenient. It seems like it is ruining our one year, five year, and ten year life plans. We can’t always choose when or how long we will wait, but we can always choose to throw a party in the process.

 

If you are in a season of waiting – waiting for a house, spouse, child, business, opportunity, change – trust God in the in-between. Allow Him to grow a delight in your spirit for what He is doing. We will always be waiting on something. Learning to wait well changes our experience.

Here and Now

The hands on the clock finally ended the time of waiting at the table. Although there had been a period of waiting, it was almost overlooked when the time was up. So, release your frustrated grip on something you are so desperately trying to manufacture. It’s easier to walk with open hands than with fists of frustration. Celebrate this season – the season for which you didn’t dream, ask, or pray. There is something happening that you can’t even see, because God is working.  There can even be a sense of wonder and delight in the “here and now”, even when it’s not “there and then”. God is getting you where you need to go.

 

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2007 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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About Hona Amer

I help people live life to the fullest. Check out my book, Smart Work U. Follow me on Twitter, Facebook, or Instagram. In order to receive updates, subscribe below.

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