5 Reasons of Waiting

Once again I find myself in a place of waiting. The problem with waiting is not having all of the details. From my perspective, I have it figured out, I know what needs to happen, and now I want God to act on my time frame. But rarely does God do things according to our time frame. This leads to disappointment, feelings of discouragement, and if we aren't careful to the belief God doesn't care or is mad at us. God is noted many times in the scripture to do things in His time, He isn't in a hurry, and it seems He always has a plan and a purpose for everything. God has good reasons for making us wait. Waiting is a part of life and one of God's tools for developing us.

Waiting reveals our true motives. If our motives are unpure, we aren't going to wait around long because we don't really care to see it through. The interest is in short term gains or successes. We need to make sure what we want to accomplish is not for ourselves or to protect our egos.

Waiting builds patience in our lives. Patience in small things leads to patience in bigger things. The problem we encounter is often our perspective. God's interests are in influencing and changing people while our's are more often selfish. We want what WE want, what WE need, and when WE want it rather than what is best for the people around us. 

Waiting builds anticipation. The longer we have to wait for something the more we appreciate it. When we appreciate something, we have a tendency to take better care of it, and when we are waiting on someone, we are more likely to love them like Jesus loves us. 

Waiting transforms our character. Like a piece of charcoal that needs pressure to be transformed into a diamond, waiting has a way of rubbing off the rough edges of our lives. Moses was impatient and rough in his youth. He killed a man and even discarded of the body before trying to escape his sin, but 40 years in the desert transformed his character. It was then that God could use him to deliver the Israelite from the Egyptians. This time he did God's way and in God's time.

Waiting builds intimacy and dependency upon God. Waiting during the difficult times developed a relationship with God for the great men and women in the Bible. The good news is that God never asks us to wait without him.