Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!  Psalm 27:14 ESV

Waiting is a funny thing. I don’t know about you, but I hate to wait. I hate to sit there and just wait. I like for my life to run like a very efficient drive-thru. I like to roll up, place my order and drive up, get my order and be on my way. Unfortunately, often times it is anything but. Often times, I find myself waiting.

I think back to my teen years. I didn’t want to wait, but I expected others to wait for me. If I wanted something I wanted it right away, but when I was told to clean my room I thought my mother was unreasonable if she would not wait until it was a convenient time for me.

In my years in probation and parole, there were times when I would have to transport a prisoner to a detention facility or jail. Often times there I had to wait with them until the admission process was completed. Waiting in jail is something that I really didn’t like. I didn’t like knowing that someone else controlled when I could leave.

Sometimes when I pray, I know that God is telling me to wait. This is extremely hard for me to do. Now there is an old saying that says that anything worth having is worth waiting for. I have found this to be true. I can honestly say that some of the things that God gave me were things that I waited years for and the wait was well worth it. In this process of waiting I have to trust that His timing is perfect.

Waiting is a wise thing to do in many cases, because in many areas of our life waiting just makes good sense. Waiting often means that we wait until we are psychologically or emotionally mature enough to handle certain things. For example, you wouldn’t want to allow a four year old to drive a car. Saving sex until marriage makes sense but we often don’t understand that one until it is too late. Waiting until you have saved the money to pay cash for an expensive item makes a lot more sense than financing it and paying interest, right?

But what do you do while you wait, this is the important thing here. While we wait, we should serve the Lord. We should honor Him. We should go about the Lord’s business and trust in Him and His timing.

When I am eagerly waiting for something, sometimes the best thing that I can do is keep myself busy. I get a lot of housework done or perhaps I study my bible. I have found that the busier I keep myself while I am waiting, the quicker the time will pass.

So, while you are waiting for God’s answer be busy doing God’s work. Trust in Him and HIs timing. Know that He has good plans for you (Jeremiah 29:11) and He is working all things out for your good (Romans 8:28). Trust that He will give to you and do for you what is best for you in the proper timing (Galatians 6:9). So, don’t give up. Keep on keeping on and continue to do good knowing that when the time comes, you will get your reward.

The waiting is the hardest part like the song says, but it is a lot easier when we busy ourselves doing God’s work and when we trust in Him and His timing.

Have a great day!