But, I Hate to Wait - Pt 2

Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you. (Psalm 33:20-22 ESV).

One of my favorite scenes from the movie Forrest Gump is when Forrest sends his son off to school. They are sitting on a stump by the mailboxes waiting for the bus to arrive. It is a momentous occasion filled with both excitement and anxiety for both of them. But, the bus arrives and little Forrest boards the bus and all of the waiting seems worth it. It is a picture of life. When we pray, God answers. The answers are always the challenge. “No” is easy, because, well . . . it’s a no. “No” is concrete, and even though difficult, you can grieve, heal, and move on from “No.” “Yes” is great, because it’s a yes. You get the thing. But “Later” is hard. That’s the one we simply don’t understand. We don’t know if a “later” is “yes” or “no” until after the fact. It is helpful to remember that God’s most precious gifts are often established in the journey, which takes time to unfold. 1. First, “later” increases our capacity for faith. if God didn’t want a deep and affectionate relationship with you, he would give you everything you wanted immediately. He would placate you with the pleasures of this world. For those who know God, that is intuitively unlike him — not unlike him to bless, but unlike him to appease. 2. Second, God asks us to wait to build appreciation. Immediacy can depreciate the value with which the recipient receives the gift. In waiting, God is kindling the fire that allows gifts to be received with joy. God doesn’t just want a gift to be a means to an end, but for the delight in the gift itself to be a means to grow in faith and joy. Exercising patience is an investment in future enjoyment, both from God’s perspective and yours (cf. Proverbs 13:12). 3. Third, “later” embeds permanence in our lives. We must be mindful that some gifts, in order for their goodness to last, require time to implant and grow. There are those times when we really do need to experience the storm to appreciate the sunshine. I always appreciate the cool day following a brief summer storm, even though they may be momentarily severe. Sometimes we use up all of our endurance, or a “no” comes, and faith seems to stand at the end sheepishly and embarrassingly empty-handed. It is at those times that we can look at all of those who have gone before us and recognize that God has already guaranteed an eternity where we will never be empty-handed. Even though I may hate to wait, that truth makes it much easier.