He Is An On-Time God – Just Wait

When you are in a season of waiting, remember our God is an on-time God. Have you ever asked God, “How much longer must I wait?” Desperately, you wish the waiting would end. Whether you wait for hours, days, months, or even years it’s never easy.

Waiting For Our Flight

On a recent visit to New Hampshire, my husband and I waited for our boarding call. Our flight had been delayed again. I observed the people around me. Each of them was waiting, too. While watching them, I considered how much time we spend waiting throughout our lives. We wait for transportation, phone calls, appointments, and people to arrive. Sometimes we wait with excited anticipation for special events, or special days. There are times we wonder if we’ll ever find true love, or if a loved one will ever seek Jesus.  Other times we anxiously await dreading the conversation that must take place or waiting for test results. Regardless the anticipation of waiting can be frustrating and at times filled with anxiety.

My Time of Waiting

I think my most difficult time of waiting was when my husband and I were ready to have a baby. The excitement of taking a pregnancy test eventually turned into a time of fear and anxiety. Will it be positive this time?  After eight months of trying, it was hard to be happy for my friends when they made their baby announcements. Baby showers were the worst. Then one night I was rushed to the emergency room with horrible abdominal pains. My waiting was over; I was pregnant. However, the devastating news that it was a tubal pregnancy was unbearable. The doctor told us it was encouraging that we could get pregnant, but we would have to wait a few months before we tried again. So, we waited. Eleven months later, God blessed us with our first beautiful baby girl.

I don’t understand why we had to wait, but I trusted God. I know his timing is perfect and He needed that little baby girl to come in His time. He didn’t make us wait long for her arrival, though. She was actually 6 weeks early! Again, His timing.

Ways to Wait

I’m sure we can all agree that waiting is never fun. However, I realized while watching the people in the airport that there are many ways in which to wait.  I noticed some people slept, others played on their phones or watched videos, while still others chatted with people around them. At times we heard angry voices asking about a delayed plane, but we could also hear laughter from children. So, how should we wait as we wait for God’s perfect timing in our lives?

1. Pray – Prayer should always be our first response when we are waiting. God wants us to come to Him with our frustrations. Psalm 62:8 tells us to trust in Him at all times and to pour our hearts out to Him. We can even bring our questions to Him. We wouldn’t be the first to ask God, “How much longer?” One of my favorite psalms is 13:1-2. David asks the Lord, “How long…?”  I’m encouraged by Psalm 40:1 in which the psalmist said, “I waited patiently for the Lord, and He turned to me and heard my cry for help.  God hears our prayers.

2. Praise – While we wait, we should praise the Lord. In Psalm 34:1 David says “I will praise the Lord at all times; His praise will always be on my lips.” Not just when things are good, but “all times” and “always.” David chose to praise the Lord no matter the situation he was in. At the end of David’s lament in Psalms 13, he says in verse 5 “But I have trusted in Your faithful love…” David also told the Lord he would sing to Him. Throughout the Psalms, David reiterates that regardless of the waiting, He will praise the Lord.

3. Be Joyful – 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 tells us to rejoice (be joyful) always and to give thanks in all We can be assured that God is working out His plan and purpose in our lives. In times when we don’t know how we can be joyful, Romans 15:13 reminds us that the God of hope can fill us with joy. Then if we become weak in our waiting and we feel like we can’t wait anymore remember “…the joy of the Lord is your strength.” (Nehemiah 8:10)

It’s okay to ask God why we must wait. It’s okay to have a time of lamenting. In fact, there is an entire book in the Bible called Lamentations. However, we must continually pray to the Lord, Praise Him in the waiting, and find our joy and strength in the Lord. We must trust His timing. He is an on-time God.

What if We Don’t Wait

At times, we get tired of waiting and try to take things into our own hands. Sitting in the airport, I asked the question, “What if we don’t want to wait anymore?” The obvious answer would be, we would get arrested. However, if we took that out of the equation what would happen? I chuckled to myself as I thought about customer service telling us it wasn’t time for our flight. But, taking matters into our own hands we walked down the jet bridge and boarded the plane anyway. However, it wasn’t going where we expected. Now, it would take twice as long or longer to get to our appointed destination. Another thought occurred to me. What if we walked through the jet bridge and there was no plane? Worse would be if we weren’t looking and plummeted to the pavement below. I guess there really is value in waiting.

Helping God

What if we tried to ‘help God.’ A good friend of mine was trying to fix her daughter up with a nice boy for an upcoming high school dance. (Names have been changed.) My friend knew her daughter liked Jaden and thought he was really nice. Since my friend knew Jaden’s mom, she spoke with her about encouraging Jaden to take Janelle to the dance. He did. Not long after the dance, however, Jaden showed his true colors. He and his friends started whispering and laughing at Janelle. We also believe he started a horrible rumor. My friend was devastated. She had only wanted the best for her daughter but now she wished she had never interfered.

A few years later, my friend told me there had been several times she wanted to ‘help God’ by making a phone call for a reference Janelle needed for a job. Things her daughter did not ask her to do. However, she refrained from those temptations. She knew God didn’t need her help. Instead, she prayed that the Lord would work His will in Janelle’s life. He did and now Janelle has a job she loves.

Manipulating Circumstances

Have you ever tried to “help” God out by manipulating circumstances so you wouldn’t have to wait anymore? I know I have. It never turned out well. The Bible tells us of several situations where His people tried to take things into their own hands. It didn’t turn out well for them either.  One such time, God told Abraham (then called Abram) that he would have offspring. Sarah (then called Sarai) thought she’d help out by giving Abraham her maid Hagar. Sarah thought she was too old and had been barren for so long that she could never have a son. Hagar bore Ishmael to Abraham and jealousy ensued. Eventually, Sarah’s waiting ended, and God gave her a son when she was 90 years old. From Sarah’s son Isaac came the 12 tribes of Israel.  Some speculate that the Arab nations came from Ishmael, Hagar’s son.

Remember

Philippians 4:6-7 sums it up nicely. “Don’t worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses every thought will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” We can have that peace in the midst of waiting. And when we become tired in the waiting we need to remember, “…those who wait on the Lord Shall renew their strength…” (Isaiah 40:31) God orchestrates His plan and purpose. Nothing surprises Him. We just need to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:7) His timing is perfect. He is an on-time God.

Challenge

Spend time this week pouring out your heart to the Lord. Then sing a praise song to Him. Tell Him you trust Him with your waiting. Take a deep cleansing breath and feel the joy and peace that comes from trusting God.

How have you seen God work in your period of waiting? Is there a time you wish you would have waited instead of taking things into your own hands? Share with me by commenting below.

Know that He is an on-time God.