God rarely seems to answer our ‘When?’ questions with a date or timescales. It is often necessary to wait for Him (Ps 130, Ps 27:14), and waiting and hoping are inextricably bound together in Scripture. We might wonder why God works this way: is it just because He is cruel, wanting us to suffer, or just to demonstrate HIs power compared to ours? If we view God in this way, then we will always resent waiting, but if we begin to understand His purposes in waiting, we will learn patience and our characters will be transformed.
Sometimes we have to wait because God is preparing the answer. Daniel had to wait three weeks for an answer to his prayers on one occasion, not because God was unwilling to answer, but because there was a spiritual battle going on in the heavens and it took that long for the answer to reach him. (Daniel 10:12-14) Jacob had to wait seven years for his wife, but ‘they seemed like only a few days to him because of his love for her.’ (Gen 29:20) God may well be working behind-the-scenes and that is why we have to wait. We live by faith and not by sight.
Waiting builds anticipation. It helps us to sift motives and to see what is really important and what is not. So often we are like the toddler who is desperate for something… but who then moves on to the next thing, with no real appreciation of what it has just received. We think we know what we want; we think we know what is best for us, but it’s often in the time of waiting that we discern more of what is really important and learn to look forward and anticipate with faith and trust and hope. Waiting can be extremely difficult, but in the waiting, we learn the meaning of delayed gratification. Some things are just better because we have had to wait for them!
Waiting transforms our character. God’s goal is for us to become like Him (see Rom 8:29) Waiting changes us from being whiny, impatient, selfish toddlers to mature, patient adults. Paul says, ‘we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us.’ (Rom 5:3-5) The ability of the child to live in the moment is commendable, but adults need to be able to take the long view. James says, ‘Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.’ (James 1:4)
Waiting increases our intimacy with and dependence on God. It forces us to be real and honest with God as we bring our questions, fears, doubts, anger and frustration to Him. As we learn to wait for Him, though, our hearts are quietened and stilled, like that weaned child in Psalm 131, and we learn to rest in Him. Ps 37:7 advises us to ‘be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him.’ Isaiah 26:8 says, ‘Yes, Lord, walking in the way of your laws, we wait for you; your name and renown are the desire of our hearts.’ The more time we spend with God waiting for Him, the more His name and renown become the desire of our hearts. The more we learn to pray ‘Not my will, but Yours be done,’ the more we realise that God knows best, and whilst we may not understand the delays, we can trust God’s timing. We can trust even when we cannot trace.
