WORTH THE WAIT

[an article that I re-stumbled upon that was good. so ENJOY!]

Few of us like to wait - it reminds us we're out of control: we don't like waiting in traffic, in line at the supermarket, at the airport, or when our computers don't process information quickly enough.

The verse "I waited for the Lord and He inclined to me and heard my cry" (Psalm 40) reminds us that waiting is normative for all of us. Scripture tells us story after story of individuals who waited and their story is the same as ours - no matter where we are in life, all of us have waited and are most likely waiting for something.

You may be in the same place or you may be waiting for different things:
* your company's been downsized - you've been waiting for employment;
* your child's turned their back on God and on you - you're waiting for reconciliation;
* your college applications are coming due; you're waiting to find out about how your future will progress;
* your health or the health of someone you love has been failing - you're waiting for relief;
* you are waiting for a partner with whom to share your life.

Whatever the agenda, whatever the broken dream, God does not leave us groveling in a quagmire of confusion. In Psalm 40, God has some important words for us regarding how we can actively deal with the universal condition of waiting.

It's easy when we are waiting to look around at what others have and compare - you know what I mean - God gave that person a good job; God provided that family with successful children; God healed that person of their illness; God gave my friend a spouse...and we finish our statements with the predicate, "why not me?"

Today, maybe that's your cry - you may be having a hard time with waiting for something: Rather than trying to figure it all out and get answers that aren't really going to make you feel any more patient than you felt when you walked in here, why not commit to sharing your burden with another - even today. Tell one other person, "This is what I am waiting for and I need you to wait patiently with me, even for me." Make a commitment to be in this place where the true nature of God is upheld week in and week out; cultivate trusting relationships - these are proactive things you can do while you wait. And if you're not in a time of waiting, maybe you can commit to being there for someone else while they wait.

At it's core, waiting is about becoming more like Christ and relying on God. The psalmist knew from past experience that in spite of his doubts, he had no where else to go but to God - there simply is no other place to go. It's not that waiting is easy or being honest with God always feels good - it may not. But if we are serious about giving our whole selves to God, then the process of waiting is something, that on our days of greatest clarity, we can begin to see as a refining process.

The issue isn't so much what we are waiting for, but what God does with us while we wait. When I look at my own life, I can say with honesty, that the one thing I want more than anything else is to be molded into the image and likeness of Jesus. And I would not trade the moments where I have been on my knees crying out to God, seeking Him and letting go of the control that is so precious to me. Waiting has made me a more broken person-and in my brokenness, I have come to rely upon and know Jesus more deeply than ever before-and I'd never change that reality.

In the famous novel, "The Count of Monte Cristo," Alexander Dumas wrote:
Live then, beloved children of my heart, and never forget that, until the day God deigns to reveal the future to man, the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and hope.
As those who follow Jesus Christ, we can wait, because in Him, we have the ultimate gift of hope-and that's a gift that's worth the wait.