I am the type of personality that sometimes is very specific about what I like to wait for. Allow me to explain, when it comes to waiting in line at the grocery store, that I can handle. When it comes to waiting for an online package to arrive at my doorstep, that too I am able to live with. However, when it comes to things that I deem incredibly important and that can deeply impact my life, that I have a hard time waiting for.
Right now, my husband and I are going through a period in which we have to wait for us to be able to live in the same country. Immigration is not as easy as the forms make it out to be and its even harder when it comes to having to schedule weekends and the next time we can see each other.
When I was first faced with this dilemma, the first thought that popped into my mind was “I have to wait….again for something that I thought I was done waiting for“. My husband and I spent a year and a half carrying through a long-distance relationship. Through it all we were able to survive because we knew that our wedding date had been set and that on that date we would get married and not have to worry about waiting to be together. When the day finally came I was overjoyed! I told myself “yes! the wait is finally over!” or so I thought. Little did I know that my husband and I were going to be faced with a major challenge in the first months of being married.
Waiting is not something that comes naturally for us humans. We live in a society in which we are prone to wanting things almost instantly. We get fidgety when an iMessage is not delivered right away. We get anxious when an email does not go through. We become agitated when we have to wait longer then 2 minutes to place an order in the line of a drive-thru. Our minds are not used to the fact that things take time. Furthermore, our attitude and perspective is not naturally drawn to the fact that we sometimes don’t know when a hard period will end. We forget that we serve a God who is the author of time and controls all the events that take place in our lives.
Whenever I think about waiting and having to go through it in my own life, my mind goes to the story of Abraham and Sara. God made them a promise that He would use them to be the father of many nations. The promise was first given in Genesis 12:1-3 and at that time Abraham and Sara had not yet had any children. As the years went on, God continued to reiterate that some promise. It was ten years later, with Abraham at the age of 100 and Sara at the age of 90, they finally had their son, Isaac. Scripture tells us in Hebrews 6:15 “And so, after he had patiently endured, he obtained the promise.”
Some may ask the question why it is that God chose to have Abraham wait for so long. The answer is not in why Abraham had to wait, it is in God’s perfect timing and the fact that God was not waiting around doing nothing. During those years He wanted to perfect Abraham’s faith in Him. He wanted Him to know that He serves a God who is not bound by time and that what may seem long to us, is God acting in His perfect way and precisely when He means to.
My husband and I are still waiting for our papers to go through. However, it is during this time that God has allowed for me to know that His timing is everything. Waiting does not mean doing nothing. It includes us actively seeking God out and praying to Him and showing that we trust in His perfect plan and timing to work all things out. I think one of the hardest parts about trusting God in His timing for this area of my life is going from there being a set date when the waiting was supposed to end and now just simply not knowing. However, on the flip side, it is also the most beautiful parts of God’s master plan because He knows exactly what the future holds. None of this took God by surprise, He knew that this challenge was going to come our way and He is in complete control and is going to provide a solution when the timing is right.
Galatians 6:9 says ” And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up.” Let us place our hope in a God who is in control of our lives and is faithful to always act in a way to bring about our God and for His Glory. As we wait let us keep praying and holding on to His promises that He is faithful in all things.
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