Waiting. I typically hate to wait. Unless its a trip to the dentist or something like that, I despise waiting and grow frustrated when forced to wait. Nonetheless, it seems that life constantly offers us opportunities to queue up and wait for something. Whether it is at a stoplight, at the grocery store, or God-forbid, at the DMV, we spend a lot of time waiting. The waiting causes me to wonder if the waiting has any purpose or if God is currently busy, thus putting my situation on pause. I have lived long enough to learn that some waiting is beneficial. The tension, at least for me, is when is waiting worthwhile and not wasted? Often, waiting time feels like wasted time and in my mind, such as it is, that is not acceptable! So I guess I do not want to wait or waste time. Yet, I manage to do both quite well sometimes. In seasons of waiting I have made some observations that may serve as springboards for spiritual growth in my life. Though interesting and insightful and perhaps helpful, learning them and applying them regularly has not been easy.
In addition to learning by experience, I often learn by reading and reflecting. I was first smacked by John Piper's words regarding my waiting problem. In his book, Future Grace, he writes:
"Impatience is a form of unbelief. It's what we begin to feel when we start to doubt the wisdom of God's timing or the goodness of God's guidance... The opposite of impatience is not glib denial of loss. It's a deepening, ripening, peaceful willingness to wait for God in the unplanned pace of obedience--to wait in His place, and go at His pace."
Observation 1: Waiting is an opportunity to trust God and grow my faith.
I must learn to trust, rely, and be content with where God has put me and with the pace in which He is moving. Remembering that God is good, His current actions are also good and for my benefit and His glory as well. I must learn to operate in His place at His pace!
Piper continued to slap at my waiting problem by writing:
"In other words, the strength of patience hangs on our capacity to believe that God is up to something good for us in all our delays and detours. This requires great faith in future grace, because the evidence is seldom evident."
Observation 2: Constant reminders of the past are necessary for encouragement in the present to provide perseverance toward the future.
I must remember what God has done in the past to give me confidence in my current delay; it is not wasted time. Or as Scott Hafemann writes in his book, The God of Promise and the Life of Faith, "We trust God in the present because of what he has already done for us in the past, which leads us to depend on him for our future." When the evidence is thin, I must go back to what I know to be true. Review the goodness and faithfulness of God in my past to settle my anxiousness in the present that He is working all things our for my good...even the waiting times! I need constant reminders. Good places to find these are from friends, my journal, and the Bible.
Dealing with my wasting issues is extremely vital. If unchecked, the consequences in my life can be devastation. Zack Eswine in his book, Sensing Jesus, warns:
"Without patience, love is distorted; faith is not possible; hope fails. Impatience violates love, hurries us into walking by sight, and usurps God by putting the fulfillment of our hopes into our own hands."
Observation 3: Impatience is a sin and failure to deal with sin has costly consequences.
In our economy, impatience does not seem too bad on the sin scale, maybe even acceptable at times. Regardless of our opinion on the matter, it is sin nonetheless. Sin separates and ruins. It distorts and produces chaos. Sin deceives us into thinking "I can manage this." It becomes a control issue and it is based on what we know and see. Sadly, the extent of my knowledge and ability to see--perspective, is limited. Thus, making decisions out of my limitations will result in disaster. The ultimate consequence of sin is death. It must be dealt with, in fact it was the reason that Jesus came to die...for sin, including my impatience.
I have found that I must...
- Learn to trust God with place and pace.
- Constantly be reminded of the goodness and greatness of God and the Gospel.
- Constantly identify and deal with sin...even "impatience."
- Pray for help...to see, to trust, and to believe.
Regarding patience...I need a "greater stamina for waiting." Arrggghhh!!!
