Imagine being in a waiting room. You’ve been there for hours. No one is telling you when it will be your turn. No one can even verify that you are in the right room. You just want some answers. You are happy to wait, if someone would just tell you what is going on and what is going to happen next. But the answers don’t come.
Then, you look at the walls and see the following signs:
Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. ~ Psalm 27:14
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own. ~ Matt 6:34
Be still and know that I am God ~ Psalm 46:10
WAITING requires patience. That’s something I’ve never been great at. It also requires putting yourself completely at the mercy of someone else. When I’m just waiting, I feel out of control. That’s really hard for someone like me who is a control freak by nature. What is going to happen? When is it going to happen?
Right now, Rob and I are doing a lot of waiting. We are waiting to hear from God in several areas of our lives.
It’s hard for me because I don’t know when we will be going, exactly how we will get there, or what exactly God’s plan for us is. It’s out of my hands right now. And therein lies the lesson – to fully depend on God.
In college, Psychology was one of my majors, and we took a lot of personality tests. I thought they were fun, and I liked seeing what other people’s answers were, so I often asked my friends to take them. Rob will still, to this day, tell you that I made him take a personality test just to see if I was willing to date him. Hey – I had to make sure, right? 
Anyway – on almost every single test I took, the following question always came up: "Do you like to be spontaneous, or stick to a schedule/plan?". I was always quick to answer "spontaneous, of course!". After all, I didn’t want anyone else running my life and telling me what to do.
But really, the older I get, and the more I learn about myself – and the closer I am to God – I realize that’s just not true. I like a plan. I like to stick to my plan. Now, when I’m on vacation and nothing matters – I love to be spontaneous. See something we want to do? Great! Let’s do it! But when it comes to my life, my family, our financial security – I like to plan. I want to know what’s happening tomorrow, next week, and next month — and how we are going to get there. I want to know what’s going on because it makes me feel like I’m in control.
But I’m really never in control. GOD is in control. And right now he is teaching me to rely on Him 100% and to wait. To wait for Him.
The song "God is in Control" by Twila Paris is one of my all time favorites. Here are the lyrics:
This is no time for fear
This is a time for faith and determination
Don’t lose the vision here
Carried away by emotion
Hold on to all that you hide in your heart
There is one thing that has always been true
It holds the world together
God is in control
We believe that His children will not be forsaken
God is in control
We will choose to remember and never be shaken
There is no power above or beside Him, we know
God is in control, oh God is in control
History marches on
There is a bottom line drawn across the ages
Culture can make its plan
Oh, but the line never changes
No matter how the deception may fly
There is one thing that has always been true
It will be true forever
He has never let you down
Why start to worry now?
He is still the Lord of all we see
And He is still the loving Father
Watching over you and me
watching over you…watching over me..
watching over every things..
watching over you..watching over me..
every little sparrow..every little thing…
So I know that God is in control. As much as I dislike being out of control myself, there is a great comfort that comes from knowing that HE has the master plan. That he knows what is coming around that corner that I can’t see.
I just have to wait for him to reveal to me what I need to know.
Waiting….it’s hard. I have never prayed for patience. I’ve been too scared to. Didn’t want God to test me in that. But, I have prayed, multiple times, to become more like Him. And you know what? Part of that journey to become more Christ-like, requires us to learn patience.
2 Peter 1:5-8 says:
For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness; and to godliness, brotherly kindness; and to brotherly kindness, love. For if you possess these qualities in increasing measure, they will keep you from being ineffective and unproductive in your knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ.
See, that means that in order to become godly, I must first have faith, goodness, knowledge, self-control, & perseverance.
To persevere…..to be steadfast.
According to Webster, STEADFAST means:
1 a: firmly fixed in place : immovable b: not subject to change
2: firm in belief, determination, or adherence : loyal
Then, in Galations 5:22, it says that the fruit of the Spirit is: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control.
PATIENT:
1: bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2: manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
3: not hasty or impetuous
4: steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
PATIENCE:
1: the capacity, habit, or fact of being patient
You know what I see here? In order to be godly, I need to learn to be patient. Being patient is more than just waiting on my friend who is late for the movie. It’s more than just staying calm when my daughter is running a little slow and I’m late for a meeting. Being patient means staying steadfast despite adversity & difficulty.
Staying FIRM in my BELIEFS in the middle of difficulty.
And then…..to truly be able to say I have patience – that means that I have the HABIT of being patient. The habit. I’m used to it. It’s second nature to me.
It’s no wonder we have to go through so many things, so many trials, to truly learn to be patient. It has to become a habit for us to stay firm in our beliefs, to lean on God – when life is tough.
And so I wait…for God. I wait for Him to work in me, and to shine his light on the next step that I need to see. As much as I would like to see around that corner, he’s not ready to show it to me yet. In the meantime, I trust…and obey.
