“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”  Psalm 27:14 (ESV)

There are many things I can do well:

Being organized. Bargain shopping (or any kind of shopping). Braiding my daughter’s hair with minimal bickering.

But waiting?

I’m pretty sure when God was handing out the gift of patience, I skipped right past that line for something else.

Blame it on being the baby of my family for twelve blissful years. Or perhaps it’s because of my notoriously headstrong streak which dates back to my toddler days.

Whatever it is – I’m a huge fan of when everything and everyone around me moves in sync with my timing, my plans, and my way of doing things.

The world just seems to flow better when I feel like I am the one in control of my life and my circumstances.

So to hear the word “WAIT”, it’s the equivalent of someone trying to snatch that control out of my firm grip.

And my initial response is to put up a fight…even if it means fighting with God.

Needless to say I’ve had – and continue to have – quite a few teachable moments, learning to relinquish control to God.

Some days, I can easily surrender to His timing. Some days, my inner brat comes creeping out, when things don’t go my way.

Maybe you can relate?

Whether you’ve been saved 10 months or 10 years, waiting on God is never an easy process. It is however, one of the greatest learning tools used to build our faith and dependency on Him.

And while I’m far from mastering the art of waiting, here are three truths I’ve learnt about waiting in my journey.

1. If God is making you wait, then it is for your best interest.

It’s always hard to remember in the middle of waiting, but God’s timing is ALWAYS perfect. He knows exactly what we need and when we’ll need it.

Isaiah 30:18 reads “the LORD longs to be gracious to you…” That means, God wants to bless us; He wants to see all His children happy.

But like any good parent, He understands how dangerous it would be to give in to our every demand. (Just think about how many times you look back and say THANK GOD He didn’t answer that prayer!)

God will never withhold anything good from us on purpose.

If He is asking us to wait, let’s trust not only in His sovereignty, but also in His goodness.

2. God is working on your behalf even as you wait on Him.

Satan often tries to convince us that God doesn’t love us or isn’t concerned about us when God’s answer is wait.

If we’re not careful, discouragement can slowly settle into our hearts when we don’t see things happening right away.

The truth is, day and night, God is strategically working behind the scenes, carefully orchestrating every detail of our lives.

He never leaves us to figure things out on our own.  Instead, He promises to work all things together for our good. (Romans 8:28)

We can be confident that as we wait, God is diligently and divinely shifting things into place on our behalf.

3. God does not need your help during the waiting process.

Perhaps the toughest part of waiting, is figuring out your role in the process.

Waiting does not mean putting your life on hold until you get an answer from God; it does not mean walking around sulking with a bad attitude.

Most of all, waiting does not mean trying to come up with creative ways to help move things along or make things fall into place.

God does not need our help during the waiting process. He only needs our obedience. (If you’re anything like me, you’ll need to read that several times and allow it to really sink in!)

Plus, what help can we possibly offer the creator of the Heavens and the Earth?

He is the God whose thoughts are not our thoughts, neither are His ways our ways (Isaiah 55:8-9). He is perfect in everything He does. And powerful enough to handle any obstacle we may face. 

That means we do not have to bear the burden of trying to control our lives or everything and everyone around us.

We can make the choice to sit back and allow God to be God.

So while I may not be the type of girl to wait, I am learning.  And I pray you will learn to wait on God as well.