"Wait for the Lord; be strong, let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14 NASB1995)
There’s a popular instagram reel right now. It features a few seconds at an airport gate, or packing while the audio asks: “Can we skip to the good part?” The chords drop and suddenly we’re at the beach or Disney World or whatever fabulous destination. The audience has successfully hurried past the boring parts essential to arrival; transported via video to the very best part of the story.
I hate to say it, but real life doesn’t work that way. We can’t fast forward through the drab details to get to the good part. It is human nature to want skip ahead, but it isn’t God’s plan. Instead, He invites, even insists that we wait on Him.
Waiting is critical because it’s one of the ways we learn surrender. When waiting, we can admit our lack of control. When waiting, we can clearly see how we are not the center of the universe. When waiting, we come to accept that God’s will is worth our patience: His way truly is better. And under His sovereign supervision, whatever we are waiting through readies us for the rest.
We can see it clearly in the scriptural accounts. Waiting is essential to the plot line. Pits must be occupied. Prison sentences fulfilled. Wilderness wandered. Exile experienced. Infertility endured. Shipwrecks survived. Character flaws corrected. These scenarios that we’d prefer to avoid altogether actually serve to prepare us for what comes after. If we want to be a part of His big plan, we must be willing to walk or crawl or wait through the tough stuff between here and there.
When we are going God’s way, the waiting can’t be skipped. It’s essential to the story. Today’s wait readies us for eternity’s reality.
"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait. And in His word I do hope." (Psalm 130:5 NASB1995)
Lord, please forgive us for our impatience. Our temptation is to skip ahead. Help us remember that rushing would result in arriving without the character necessary to sustain what comes next. Help us trust Your sovereign nature and Your good plan to grow us up into Your image. Take Your time as we take courage and trust Your story unfolding. Amen.