“Lord, I wait for you; you will answer, Lord my God.” Psalm 38:15
Are we there yet?
If you’re a parent, you know the question. It’s the same one that’s been asked from the back seat of the family truckster since time began. Over and over again. And by now, our family has taken enough road trips that we have instituted the practice of not answering that question. As a parent, it’s a no-win kind of question because no matter how close you are to the destination, you’re never close enough.
Ironic, though, that I constantly plague God with the very same question! Whether I am asking Him for something professionally, personally, in the world, or even on behalf of someone else (in my most spiritual of moments), it’s really the same question, just flowered up and specified for my own situations:
Are we there yet?
I don’t think I’m alone. We live in a Twitter world. Instantaneous information. Quick gratification. Faster food. Microwave relationships. “Multitasking” tasking. We have been conditioned to believe that everything must happen now. Practicing patience goes against the grain of our surrounding culture. Yet patience is one of the fruits the Holy Spirit produces in our lives – one of the qualities of Christ-likeness that God is building in us day after day as we walk in obedience and intimacy with Him.
It was His Son Jesus that modeled this kind of patience for us. As you read through the gospels, you find Jesus over and over again telling the crowds of people clamoring for His coronation that His time had not yet come. You hear Him telling people to keep His identity and miracles to themselves, and you see Him dispersing those same crowds who sought to make Him a king. Jesus was patient, and it is God’s will that we also become patient.
How do we find this trait in such a culture? How do we “wait in patience” when the world constantly tells us to hurry up?
It is only through faith. In order to find patience, we must believe that God is wise, that God is loving, and that God is generous. He is wise enough to lead us in the right way, loving enough to place us in the best position, and generous enough to bring these circumstances to pass.
So if you’re waiting today, don’t just try harder to be patient. Instead, remember who God is and let that knowledge fuel the minutes, hours, and days in front of you.
Written by Michael Kelley, Guest Contributor
To read more of Michael’s writing, check out his daily blog, “Forward Progress.” http://michaelkelley.co/
