I hate to wait. I don’t like long lines. Nor do I like waiting to get my meal at a restaurant. I often feel like the White Rabbit in Alice in Wonderland, “I’m late. I’m late. For a very important date!” And now I wait for toilet paper, hand sanitizers, masks and what ever else we need to fight this virus.  Truth is, most of us are impatient. We’ve become accustomed to getting things now. But lately, our patience is being tested in new ways. We have to wait because we have no choice.

To wait often requires stillness or quietness. Hmm… that means a slowing down. It also means to be diligent in the process. So it is an active process, not passive. During the ‘pause,’ we trust that waiting will bear fruit. Like a child who eagerly waits on Easter morning to find the hidden basket, good things come to those who wait. Impatience is bred when there is a lack of trust.

Waiting builds our faith. It produces perseverance and endurance. Scripture tells us to wait and not grow faint. Run but don’t grow weary. Waiting allows God to renew our strength in weary times. Not surprisingly, the act of waiting is addressed multiple times in the Bible. God knows that when we become impatient, we can complain or grumble. Or we can trust He is working on our behalf even when we don’t see it.

Waiting requires an expectancy. We wait for help, for vaccines and for a slow down of the virus. But in reality, our expectancy is in the Lord, trusting Him to work in our favor while we do what we can. So while we wait for a return to some sense of normalcy, trust the One who holds it all in His hands. If God is for us, who (or what) can be against us? If His ways are truly perfect, then trust.

So, like you, I am practicing patience and waiting. Maybe this slow down is good in that we are building our patience again. Our demand for more and immediate has taken a back seat out of necessity. Our focus is shifting from self-sufficiency to dependence on God. We see our need for Him as we wait. The problem before us is great and we ask for grace. And in this process of waiting, we strengthen our heart.

So during this time of waiting, set your mind on these truths to deal with impatience:

1. God is listening. He hears our cries for help.
2. God is present and a help in trouble. He is not distant and uninvolved.
3. God often works in unexpected ways. God doesn’t always answer our prayers in ways we expect but He does answer.
4. Better to trust God than our own understanding. While it is hard to trust what we don’t see, we don’t have the big picture or know what is happening  behind the scenes.
5. God is sovereign. He is either good and in control or not.
6. We are called to be strong and take courage. This is true resiliency.
7. God’s timing is the right timing. We have multiple biblical examples of impatient actions creating future problems.
8. Our hope is in Christ. We stand on His promises and eternal blessings.

Psalm 27: 14  Wait on the Lord, Be of good courage. And He shall strengthen your heart, Wait, I say, on the Lord!