5 Lessons in Waiting

I am NOT a patient person. I want to say that right at the beginning, because people tell me I am. "Oh, you're such a patient person", they say, "I could never put up with what you go through". Nonsense. I'm probably the least patient person I know. But I am learning. God is seeing to that. He wouldn't bother if I already was so patient.

The dictionary definition of "patient" is accepting pains or hardships calmly or without complaint. Broken down into Webster's terms, patience is:

1. bearing pains or trials calmly or without complaint
2. manifesting forbearance under provocation or strain
3. not hasty or impetuous
4. steadfast despite opposition, difficulty, or adversity
5. able or willing to bear -- used with of

(Oddly, I don't see "able to wait without grumbling" in there anywhere. I would have thought most people considered the ability to wait calmly as being the primary definition of patience.)

I can say that I am patient in many ways. I put up with a great deal more than most would in relationships and otherwise. I am not annoyed by drudgery. One would think I was patient all around, but I cannot stand to wait. It's not even the waiting on people that irks me. Long lines, lateness, delays, none of these bother me when people are to blame. No, only waiting on God frustrates me. Waiting on "God's good time" is something I can hardly bear. I guess because I tend to believe God could just make it His good time, and then I wonder why does He wait?

Unfortunately, God in His wisdom, has determine that the best way to teach a person patience in waiting, is to make them wait. The waiting can't end until the lesson is learned. It may not be that He makes you keep waiting for the same thing for years on end, if that's how long it takes, but you'll be waiting on something, nonetheless.

But patience isn't the only lesson to be learned from having to wait. I know because God explained to me just a week or two ago exactly why I am being forced to wait on some things He has promised me. He said I have 5 lessons to learn, and they are all learned by waiting on Him. Yes, it turns out He has been trying to teach me these same 5 lessons my entire life, but I never learned them.

God is sharp-witted... and He's patient. He knows how to wait, letting us choose to obey Him or not, until we are truly ready to learn something. Then, when we are so desperate we are begging Him for help, He lays it out so beautifully before us, a clear and attainable goal, that we cannot help but accept it. We are eager to learn.

Of course it would be better if this were not necessary. We should just seek His guidance in all things from the beginning, and do as He says. Human nature, however, seems to rule, at least part of the time, in most of us. We say we want Him to lead us, and then we go and do our own thing. I have been this way most of my life. Finally, after all this time He has decided I was ready for my big lesson. This is a make or break deal for me, I know. Either I give in to Him fully, and learn these 5 lessons, or I continue on my usual path of failure for all time. I don't believe for an instant that I am getting yet another chance on this one.

These 5 lessons aren't just for me though. They are something everyone would greatly benefit from learning. It's just that God has decided this is something I particularly need. I don't disagree with Him. So, what are the 5 lessons to be learned from waiting?

They are:

1. Trust and Rely on God - This simply means that you believe what God says, and you don't ever doubt Him. God never lies, so if He says He'll do something, He will. We have to rely on Him to do it in His good time, however, and not try to force the issue by trying to make things happen on our own. I have a long and sad history of doing just that. Let me tell you, the messes I have created for myself should have been lesson enough, but that never stopped me from doing it again.
2. Be Content and Appreciate - We need to learn to be content with what we have, and not feel like if we only had such-and-such or if only this or that would happen, well, then we'd be happy. No, we need to be happy and bloom where we are planted. We must learn to be good stewards of what we have been given as well. God won't allow you to have a nicer home, or more children, or a new car, if you don't take care of and appreciate what you already have. The parable of the talents is a good illustration of that.
3. Be Patient and Anticipate - We need to learn to wait and endure the current situations, whatever they are, without grumbling or getting angry. (Believe me, if you are, you are not really angry or frustrated with the situation. You are angry and frustrated with God, because we all know He is capable of making changes, and tend to wonder why He hasn't done this or that for us yet. This is selfishness... and it is saying, really, that we don't believe God will keep His word. Otherwise, why the impatience with One so perfect?) In fact, we are to look forward to whatever God is going to do in our lives with all of the joyful anticipation of a little child at Christmas. We should be filled with delight, all starry-eyed and excited.
4. Prepare - If we truly believe God will do as He says, we should be acting on it. If He promises you something, you must make sure you are ready to recieve it. If you don't pack for a trip, aren't you saying you don't really believe you'll be going anywhere? Well, the same goes for preparing for anything else. If God promises that you will have many guests for dinner, then you had better get cooking! This is really an outward expresion of faith, and (like the other 3 lessons) goes hand in hand with lesson 5...
5. Be an Example - We need to let others see God working in our lives, both through us and for us. If we don't, (if we hide our light under a bushel, as it were,) we are stifling a golden opportunity for God to show His love and faithfulness to His children. God doesn't want to bless just you. He wants to bless everyone. One of the best ways He reaches others is through us, His close followers. If an unsaved person hears you say how God is going to bless you, and then they see it for themselves, what an impact that can have! Even those who are saved, but lukewarm, can be reached this way. They have determined for themselves that God isn't interested in them; or there's nothing to be gained by following Him. If they can see God taking care of you, in way they've only dreamed of, then you can be instrumental in drawing them closer to Him. Who wouldn't want to do that? Then, of course, there's the most direct... being an example to other close followers who just haven't learned the lessons yet themselves. It is so much easier and more pleasant to learn from someone else's mistakes and triumphs.

Five lessons... They seemed so simple and obvious to me, once He told me about them. But I have already struggled for decades with them. I am determined now to learn them once and for all. I know for a fact, that I can't do it myself. God has to do it for me. "None of me, Lord, none of me. It's all You." I await His blessed help and His promises with a thrill in my heart.