The Trial of Waiting

In my discussions on stewardship, I mentioned that I don't believe that stewardship should be limited to the management of our finances. I believe that being a good steward means "managing your time, gifts and desires in a way that glorifies God." Taking this more holistic approach to stewardship will impact your entire Christian walk resulting in it being less likely that you mismanage your finances.

When it comes to managing our time, I believe that one of the most important, yet most neglected aspects, is that of "waiting" on the Lord. In this day and age of instant gratification, computers never being fast enough and the "buy now pay later" mindset the concept of waiting is not well tolerated. For Christians, this poses a real challenge, primarily because God uses waiting as one of the tests of our faith.

James 1:12 Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love him.

I think of David, having been anointed king by Samuel, being left to wander in the wilderness for 10 years, avoiding Saul's spears, before his kingship became a reality. A reading of the Psalms reveals the agony, frustration, and difficulty of "waiting."

Psalm 69:3 I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

Psalm 62: 5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.

Waiting allows you to discover whether or not your request is what God wants for you. The lack of a willingness to wait has led many Christians into needless difficulties. Resulting in them having to turn to God and ask Him to help them clean up the mess, that their lack of waiting created. Then, as if to reinforce the lesson of waiting, they have to be prepared to wait again as God, leaves trial, and leads them through it.

There have been many times in my life that I have been tested in "waiting" but never more than recently. Five years ago my wife was diagnosed with stage IV colorectal cancer which had metastasized to her liver. The prognosis was that she had three years to live. As I mentioned earlier, that was five years ago and we were waiting for God's will to be revealed. Five years of uncertainty, five years of chemotherapy and dealing with its subsequent side effects, five years of riding the roller coaster of treatment success and treatment failure. It was agonizing, but we waited to see what the Lord had in store. Along with the waiting came many blessings. The side effects of the chemo were minimal, and my wife got to lead a pretty normal life, we had three grandchildren entered our lives, we got to continue to enjoy our road trips and had many wonderful restaurant visits. Many others were blessed during our time of waiting by observing her steadfastness and continued love for God. In our waiting, we drew closer to the Lord than at any other time in our Christian walk. I am thankful for the grace and mercy that God extended to us. His grace and mercy were revealed through our waiting. Waiting is a test of faith. The value in waiting is dependent on the end result but on what happens along the way. May you be blessed in your waiting.

Lam 3: 25 The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.