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Have you ever said: “Lord, it’s enough! When are you going to do something about this? Why are you waiting so long?” Well, I don’t know anyone who hasn’t asked those questions of God at some time or another in their Christian walk.
Why is waiting so hard for us? Why do we chomp at the bit so easily when God doesn’t do what we think he should do when we think he should do it? Let me share my own answers to those questions and see if you can identify with me.
Waiting is difficult for me because I don’t like the unknown. I want to know what lies out there; mysteries frighten me, especially where my own future is concerned. Waiting is tough for me because I’m a here and now person, and I want everything in neat little rows, no strings left hanging, no problems left unsolved.
Waiting is hard for me when I think I know the right solution and can see no benefit in waiting for it to happen. In fact, it usually appears disastrous to me to think it won’t happen on my schedule. Waiting is hard for me because I tend to be a controlling person, and I want to feel that everything’s on schedule.
Undoubtedly, you can relate to some of my difficulties with waiting and perhaps add a few of your own. When I take a closer look, I have to conclude my problem is I don’t want to let go and trust God. I’m afraid to trust God. It is a sinful, though frequently undetected, attitude that I’ve got better solutions, better schedules, better ideas than God. It is a false trust in myself. That’s a little tough to face, but I believe it is the root cause of my struggles—and yours too—when God keeps us waiting.
The truth is the waiting periods of our lives are very important to our spiritual growth and understanding of God, for through them we learn to walk by faith and not by sight.