How to wait

by Shelia Gaines

Verses for Thought:  
But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;  and they shall walk, and not faint.  Isaiah 40:31

My thoughts are not your thoughts, nor are your ways my ways,' says the Lord. 'For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways.  Isaiah 55:8-9

As I looked out the window of the plane, I wondered about God’s timing and how hard it is for us to wait.  The plane had been delayed for hours.  More than once we thought the wait was over, only to be notified that we would have another delay.  We waited patiently (some more patiently than others) before we were finally able to board and get on our way.   The pilot assured us that we would make up time in the air.  Even though weather had been the cause of our delay and the only thing I could see out of my window was fog, we still made the trip in record time.  I have read that the average speed of a commercial passenger jet is about 500-600 miles per hour. That is pretty fast!  Especially when it feels as if the plane is barely moving and sometimes it seemed as if you are suspended in midair.  Someone described the scenario as an optical illusion created by several factors including the fact that you are so high in the air and moving so fast it appears as if things around you and on the ground are going by very slowly.

Often when God is orchestrating events in our lives to create a certain outcome we feel like he is not moving fast enough.  We forget that our perspective is not the same as God’s.   We can only see the present.   God knows what the future holds and why we need to wait. Just as the pilot monitors the speed of a plane and knows when adjustments need to be made, God is likewise piloting our course as we walk in his word and trust his navigational skills above our own.

Let’s Pray:  
Lord, teach us how to trust you to take us to the place we need to be in this spiritual journey.  Help us to turn to you when we must wait for the next leg of the trip.  Teach us how to wait with expectancy instead of idleness.

Take the Next Step:
The next time you think you are going nowhere fast, remember God is moving all around you.  Instead of focusing on the length of the trip or how long it takes you to get started, ask God to give you strength to endure the trip, even when it’s hard to enjoy the ride.  Remember this quote from a devotion I once read.  “It is your responsibility to pray.  It’s God’s job to answer.”