Waiting…

I’m currently on a 40 day challenge where I have committed to get up early and spend at least 40 minutes in prayer and reading.  It’s Day 18 for me and the subject this a.m. was “Waiting on the Lord.”  I had to laugh because one of the most challenging concepts for me to grasp in my relationship with God is the wait.  Especially when you take into account how structured my life is and how obsessed I am with time and order, lol.  While I was in prayer this morning, God asked me to think about and write down the times when I don’t mind waiting.  These include:

• When it’s free or it costs considerably less than expected (i.e. It may take 40 minutes for an oil change, but it will only cost me $.50). 
• I never mind waiting when I know EXACTLY who or what I’m waiting on, details in tow, and the time of delivery is specified. 

What I discovered during this exercise is that waiting on God isn’t an issue when it’s all on my terms.  My desire, my way, in my time.  I guess you could say that I’ve gotta be in on it for the wait to be palatable.  This, my friends, results in the ultimate clash of wills.  And, consequently, an excruciating wait.  I hardly stopped to think that maybe I’m the stalemate…until today.

Most of the time, it’s not me waiting on God…it’s God waiting on me.  It became clear to me this morning that God is patiently waiting and looking for someone who wants what He wants for their life in it’s entirety.  I can’t pick and choose the parts of His package that I like, put them together in my blender, and ask Him to sprinkle his Jesus dust on it and make it special.  I have to want God’s ways, His timing, and the resulting blessing. 

The wait is only challenging to the extent that my will is not conformed to His.  I think that the best “conforming” glue is remembering this:  When I’m with God, every final outcome is exponentially greater than I could imagine and the time spent waiting is negligible considering that I always have the option of resting in His arms. 

The moral of the story:  Don’t overlook the journey for the destination.  God has the purpose of a lifetime planned especially for you, but it will never be fully realized if you don’t place all of your trust in your mode of transportation and learn to enjoy the scenery.