But, God says wait…

It happens often in our lives that we pray for something and we want it to happen immediately, we cannot or we do not want to wait for it. The wait is killing.

If you have ever waited for anything you might understand how it feels, how difficult it is to pass each second when you are waiting outside an operation theater for a loved one, when you are waiting for a breakthrough in your business, when you waiting for a promotion in your job, when you are waiting to find someone.

When a child has appeared for an exam and he is eagerly waiting for the result, the teacher announces the 3^rd, 2^nd position and his name is not among them, he is now waiting for the 1^st , he wants to hear his name, he is waiting and praying that name to be his, that prize to be his, it may come up or may be God might say, wait for one more year! Probably, because there is something more that God wants the child to learn, something that he could not understand this year and God wants to show that to him in the next year.

Yes, it is extremely difficult to wait. But, God often says wait, wait for the right time to come. God has blessed me to write songs for Him and one of the very first songs I wrote goes like this…

Though I am saying, I will make it happen, it will not happen if God has no will for it.

If He is saying, it will not happen for me, it will not happen, how much ever I want it.

He knows better, what is right for me, He will give it to me in its right time

God’s plan and His timing are definitely better than ours, and it’s perfect. And, I truly believe that He does not simply make us wait for no reason, He does not make us wait so that He can have a good time watching us wait. No, the reason might not be clear to us now but it will be when the wait is over, when the time has come, when the result is finally announced and we are at the top in the list.

In Acts 27 when Paul was travelling in a ship in a troubled sea, and all his fellow passengers were very scared of what might happen to them, an angel of God appeared to Paul and told him in v 24 “Do not be afraid, Paul, you must stand before Caesar. And, behold, God has granted you all those who sail with you.” God did tell this to Paul, but it did not happen immediately, Paul had to wait as we see in v33 Paul talks to other passengers and says “For the last fourteen days, you have been in constant suspense and have gone without food-you haven't eaten anything”. So, it might have been a long wait, as he says 14 days! God did promise Paul of deliverance but He also made him wait. Deliverance came when they were all saved in v 44. Paul did not lose hope, he just kept saying it will happen exactly as God said and never doubted upon it.

When Jesus came on this earth, He had to wait for years to complete his mission, He had to go through pain, sufferings, betrayal, denials, tests in His journey till He could finally die for us on the cross and even His death did not happen immediately, it was not an easy one, it took hours for him as He hung on the cross and waited for death. Why couldn’t God just do it all in one day from Jesus’s birth to death to His resurrection without making Him suffer so much, this would have been easier, better and more comfortable, right?

But, God said wait. Wait for the right time to come, wait till when Jesus was ready and He had done all that God wanted Him to do during His earthly ministry, wait till He had passed all tests, trials and temptations victoriously, wait till people on earth have made Him suffer enough and are ready to hang Him on cross.

And, therefore, now we have a beautiful life of Jesus that we know, we study, learn from and follow. He said 7 beautiful verses while he was hanging on the cross, that we now understand, interpret and appreciate.

So, yes, we have to wait for God to prepare us, hone us, shape us. The wait might not look very easy and attractive but I am sure that the reward will be. We only need to stay focused, stay committed towards God while we wait patiently and do not quit, just as Jesus did.