Still Waiting
It was taking too long.
How long was she going to have to wait?
Was God saying no?
Just like any other girl who longed for fairy tales, she was no different. She started counting the years. High school didn’t count because…well…it was high school. College was different. College was full of hopes. College was full of dreams. College was full of possibilities. College was six years instead of four, and yet there still remained a dream unfulfilled. After college were the years of odd jobs here and there, then finally landing in her career. A good career. A career she was very happy with. A career she still thrived in.
There were happy years between then and now to be sure, however, a dream still sat in her heart unfulfilled.
A weary sigh escaped from her lips as she realized it had been 24.
24 years of hoping, of dreaming, of praying.
24 years of trusting that God really did have a plan and purpose for her. Of believing that somehow, some way, there was a reason He was keeping her in this particular situation. But as she struggled to understand why He would have her remain here, she knew that He saw the bigger picture and believed that faith tested, is faith strengthened.
And so, she waits.
“For the vision is yet for an appointed time; but at the end it will speak, and it will not lie. Though it tarries, wait for it; because it will surely come.”
Habakkuk 2:3
We’ve all been there. In line. At the grocery store, in the drive thru, stuck in traffic.
Waiting.
Waiting for our turn. Our turn to move, to go, to get.
We wait for all kinds of things. Filling up a tank of gas, getting put on hold over the phone, in the doctor’s office, waiting to install a program, waiting to see a film, in line for a concert, waiting for a baby to be born, for the plants to grow in our garden, for Christmas morning, for bread to rise, for pain to dissipate, for children to mature, for wounds to heal, for courage to build…for love to deepen. It’s a part of life…this waiting.
But seasons of waiting are different. It’s not like waiting in line for something. It’s bigger than that. More important. More significant. And at times, faith-testing.
Are you in a season of waiting?
A devotion I read long ago said: “Waiting for a vision that tarries is the true test of our faithfulness to God. Will you be proven to be an empty pod with no seed inside? That will depend on whether or not you are actually living in the light of the vision you have seen. Let God send you out through His storm, and don’t go until He does. If you select your own spot to be planted, you will prove yourself to be an unproductive, empty pod. However, if you allow God to plant you, you will ‘bear much fruit’.”
We must take our hands off our life, and let God do the planting. Because where He plants is where there will be fruit.
We can wait patiently on the Lord because we know that for those who love God all things work together for our good, for those who are called according to His purpose. (Rom. 8:28)
Have you lost faith, or have given up because you think God has said no to a dream? It could be that they aren’t “no’s” at all. They’re just, “waits”. Only the Father knows. I know it’s hard, but continue to wait. Just remember to let God do the planting…wherever, and whenever that may be. Because God is good.
Dear Father. I do not like to wait! There are some things I’ve been praying for, for a long time. Good things! And I just don’t understand why You don’t provide. But Lord, I know that You see the big picture. Help me to be content with your sovereignty and not try to manipulate You or the situation. Help me to trust You completely! Amen.
