Hurry Up And Wait!

It is amazing how much waiting we do over the course of our
life. When we are kids, we wait to grow up; when we are teens, we
wait to fall in love, get married and have kids; we wait for the
day we get our diploma, the day we get a good job, the day we get a
better job, and on and on. The fact is, we spend much of our life
waiting: we wait in traffic; we wait in supermarket lines; we
wait
  in doctor’s offices … and to make matters worse, most of us
hate to wait!
It is amazing how much waiting we do over the course of our life. When we are kids, we wait to grow up; when we are teens, we wait to fall in love, get married and have kids; we wait for the day we get our diploma, the day we get a good job, the day we get a better job, and on and on. The fact is, we spend much of our life waiting: we wait in traffic; we wait in supermarket lines; we wait  in doctor’s offices … and to make matters worse, most of us hate to wait!

I’m usually OK, except when I’m hungry; I particularly hate waiting in restaurants. If you stop to think about it, there are usually seven “waits” when you go to a nice restaurant: first, you wait to be seated, then you wait to get a menu, then you wait to order, then you wait for your food to come, then you wait for whatever condiments you need to adjust your food (how do people eat without Tabasco?), then you wait for the check, then you wait for your change.

And to top it off, they have the audacity to call your server the “waiter.” Hey, I’m the waiter here! OK, OK … I know what you’re thinking: Henry really needs to learn about patience. Well, I do, and I find some great instruction in the Book of James.

First, I learn when to be patient. Verse 7 says, “consider the farmers who eagerly look for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They patiently wait for the precious harvest to ripen.” Why is patience such an important attribute for a farmer to have? Because there are so many factors they have absolutely no control over (rain, drought, heat, cold, labor costs, food prices, etc.).

And whether I realize it or not, the same is true in my life. A good example is the area of relationships. And let me choose just one aspect of my relational world: my relationship with my child. Even if I were to always speak and act in a way that  pleases God, I would still be confronted with the rebelliousness that is bound in the heart of a child.

Much of what we call “child discipline” is reactive, not proactive. In other words, as much as I would love my child to do the right thing, I realize there are times when she will choose another path. At that point I am faced with a choice: I can either recognize her behavior is beyond my control and respond in a God-honoring way, or I can become angry and try to force my will upon her.

Why are there are so many frustrated parents? Because we often attempt to control things that are beyond our control. The old 12-Step Serenity Prayer is a good one for all of us: “God grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change, the courage to change the things I can, and the wisdom to know the difference.”

In addition to learning when I should be patient, I also learn how to be patient: The key is to remember that God is still in control of all things. Three times in this passage, James reminds us that while  circumstances are often out of my control, they are never out of God’s control. Getting back to the analogy of the farmer, I must believe that God is the Lord of the harvest and allow Him to act in His own time and in His own way. 

Now what does a farmer do while waiting for God? Watch TV? Of course not. While waiting, he is preparing. In the same way, we must prepare for God to answer us. A few serious questions: What have you been waiting for God to do in your life? Heal you of a physical ailment? Restore your shaky finances? Rebuild a damaged relationship? Whatever it is, are you preparing for God’s answer by doing the things you need to do? For example, if you want God to heal a damaged relationship, are you learning how to love others so you will be ready when God does begin the healing? If not, you will just destroy whatever positive steps He makes in the other person’s heart. 

I’ve discovered that often when I think I’m waiting on God, He’s really waiting on me to get prepared for His answer! He’s usually saying, “Grow up, Henry. You need to prepare for the blessing I’m going to give you.”