A Light for My Path

I love to wait, don’t you?

Just kidding. I’m not a very patient person. The speed at which things can typically happen now exacerbates my impatience when they are slow. Think about it:

When I was a child, I was rarely allowed to call anyone long distance, especially my cousin who lived in another country. Even then, I had to wait until 10:00 pm when the rates were lower and couldn’t talk more than fifteen minutes. Instead, I had pen pals. We wrote each other letters. On paper with a pen in cursive. Then we put it in an envelope, addressed it, and put a stamp on it. We either put it in the mailbox with the flag up or took it to the post office.

Then, we waited. Waited for it to take several days to get to her. Waited for her to read it and write back. And then several more days for it to be delivered.

Ordering something was equally time-consuming. You looked through a catalog to decide what you wanted. Then you filled out an order form, put it in an envelope along with a paper check for payment. And mailed it off. It could be several weeks before your package arrived.

Communication is almost immediate these days. When you text a friend, she receives your message right away, and usually responds within minutes. When she doesn’t, do you get aggravated or worry that something’s wrong? Yeah, me too.

Orders are placed online, paid for electronically, and often arrive the next day. If the order is delayed I get annoyed. I wanted to wear that dress to the party this Saturday!

Because we are accustomed to a fast-paced world and immediate gratification, delays and waiting are harder than ever. People get road rage when traffic is backed up, honk their horn when the drive-up line is slow, and throw temper tantrums with their flight is delayed.

Waiting isn’t just a petty annoyance, though. Waiting can be legitimately worrying and scary. We worry when we have to wait for test results. What if I, or my spouse, or my child has something serious? When the meteorologist shows the predicted path of a hurricane, it’s hard to wait, wondering if we should evacuate or if our house will still be standing when we return.

Waiting is hard. Yet, over and over God tells us to wait. In fact, according to Mickey McCandless of Methodist Healthcare Ministries, there are 116 references to waiting in the Bible. Especially waiting on the Lord. Here are just a few instances:

Psalm 27:14 “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.”

Lamentations 3:25 “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him.”

Isaiah 40:31 “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”

Waiting in traffic or for a package can be annoying. But, waiting for a diagnosis; waiting to hear from your son in a war zone; waiting for a broken marriage to heal; waiting to see your loved ones again in Heaven . . . these things can tear your heart apart. They can make you lose your faith.

We need to remember that God’s time is not our time. Every single time God has told someone to wait, He has fulfilled His promise. It might have taken decades or millenniums. It might not happen until we’re in Heaven. But, it will happen. We have His promise.

I can’t wait.

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Laura