Wait. Admit it we bristle at and resist that word, don’t we? Waiting in line, waiting in traffic, waiting for anything. Why is the barista taking so long to get my six-dollar white chocolate mocha latte made? Thursday afternoon I was boarding my flight home after a week-long trip. I was tired and ready to get home and found myself impatiently along with dozens of other passengers pressing forward toward the boarding gate. I was in zone 6 and they had just started pre-boarding for those needing extra time! Really Ralf? I thought to myself, chill dude. I stopped adjusted my attitude and backed up.

We want it, and we want it now! We crave instant gratification and will short circuit and do anything we can to avoid or eliminate waiting time, including paying extra for next day delivery. After all we are busy and can’t possibly wait a week or two for delivery to get that new device, dress, or doodad that we can’t seem to live without. We think waiting time is wasted time.

And then there is waiting on the Lord. The Scriptures are full of examples of those who took matters into their own hands rather than waiting on or for God. One costly example was when the prophet Samuel told king Saul to wait for him in Gilgal for 7 days before preparing for battle with the Philistines. Samuel would come and then offer burnt offerings and a peace offering. Saul got impatient and offered the offerings himself, disregarding what God had told him through the prophet. Saul learned his lesson the hard way by refusing to wait, and it cost him his reign and kingdom.

Throughout the Psalms waiting is encouraged and practiced. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!” “Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations; I will be exalted in the earth!” In Isaiah 40 we read, but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.

As Jesus ascends to Heaven He says to the apostles, I am sending forth the promise of My Father upon you; but you are to stay (wait) in the city until you are clothed with power from on high.

In the gospel of John, Jesus heals the paralytic by the pool of Bethesda. Talk about waiting, he had been in that condition for 38 years. The woman with the issue of blood who touched the hem of Jesus had spent all she had on doctors and had been in her condition for 12 years.

As I continue my journey toward rest and life balance, I am learning the value of and am leaning into waiting on and for the Lord. Does the Lord have you in a “holding pattern”? If so, resist the urge to push the issue, instead wait. Don’t view waiting time as wasted time. Also, it’s waiting time not whining time. Wait in stillness and quietness before Him. View waiting time as an opportunity to quiet your mind, body, and soul. Waiting time is refining time.

When the Lord has you in a holding pattern, W-A-I-T. W-worship, praise and adore Him A-ask pray, seek Him and His will. I-invite the Spirit to control, guide, and empower you. And T- time, don’t get caught up in the “how long” of waiting. Remember the paralytic waited 38 years and the woman with the issue of blood waited 12 for healing.

And finally, recognize that resisting or refusing to wait on the Lord can be viewed as an attempt to usurp God, not trusting his sovereignty, and wanting to control our lives. Instead as a sweet act of worship, submit and surrender to Him.

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