Waiting...

Who likes to wait? Raise your hand! Yeah, so I thought! No show of hands.

One country music artist sings a song entitled, "Waitin' on a woman!"

Well, that kinda stands to reason, most of the time...the higher maintenance she is,

the longer the wait! I won't tarry long here so as not to appear offensive.

For the hungry, waiting to eat can become a unpleasant task.

For the sick, waiting to see a doctor can become a nerve-wrecking event.

For the unemployed, waiting to find a job can become a frustrating dilemma.

For the elderly, waiting for the end of life can become a devastating disappointment.

And the list could continue.

As you read the previous words, you will note the negativity in the process of the waiting.

For the most part, waiting, in any realm, isn't a pleasant experience.

We live in this high tech, modern day, rapidly moving age, and we see on a daily basis the effects of those who do not like to wait.

Why? I think mainly because we have programmed ourselves to be busy...whether we are really accomplishing a whole lot or not, we just feel the need to be b u s y.

I can only imagine how temperaments flair, creating road rage in metropolis cities, where six and eight lanes of traffic are bumper to bumper at rush hour.

The biggest reason? Again, just my opinion, thankfully, because I love the rural life, but the main reason is people do not want to wait.

It's sad, for the most part, when we cannot appreciate the times when we have to wait.

I am speaking to self tonight as I pen these words, hoping for some self-encouragement.

While sitting on the front porch this evening, listening to the raindrops tapping on the metal roof above, I was reminded that, as we Southerners can aptly put it, 'life ain't fair.'

No matter how blessed we are, or how much perhaps we suffer lack, there is always room for more. There's always a possibility to improve.

Sometimes, though, in the midst of life's challenges, we find ourselves in a 'wait' state. 

I am speaking from my personal opinions and experiences here, so if you disagree with me, that's okay. As a quote my son penned a while back states, 'Everybody's journey looks different.'

So, if your life's journey doesn't find relevancy in this story, then hopefully you will humor me as I share these words from my point of view. And you can be thankful that your life is somehow better. 

We can always look around and find others who are worse off than we are...thus, making us appreciate where we are, in view of where we could be. As the old saying goes, 'except for the grace of God, there go I.'

Perhaps you've not found life to be unfair, and maybe you can smile in the mirror and pat yourself on the back for the many successes and achievements you've accomplished. If so, that's great, I applaud you, as Mama would say, 'I glory in your spunk!'

Just keep the pride factor on the down low.

But for me, the wait game has become my shadow, especially in the past ten plus years.

Thankfully, with my Biblical and spiritual knowledge, though, it's become quite obvious that God keeps me pretty close to the Potter's wheel.

Learning to wait is an art, like learning to listen. 

We can be hesitant, shift from one foot to the other, look at our watch, or nowadays our iPhones or iPads, and pretend we are waiting.

Just like hearing...we hear constantly; talking, singing, all the sounds of daily life, but to actually listen requires action on our part, attentiveness, much like waiting does.

When we become attentive to the fact of waiting...waiting for direction from God, as a daily requirement for our benefit, then life takes on a different flavor.

"They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength..."

"Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and He will strengthen you; wait, I say, on the Lord..."

These two scriptures came to my mind this morning as I was having a soliloquy of sorts with myself. I do that quite often, and most of the time God will bring a scripture or word to my mind to give me a little incentive. Thank you, Lord!

But in due process, the incentive usually moves me to some sort of action.

When we are in a wait mode, we feel uncertainty, sometimes frustration...kinda like a horse with the bridle on and the bit in his mouth. 

Ever referred to yourself as 'chomping at the bit'?

I have, and like the rider who has the reins, as the horse gets restless and begins to chomp the bit and shake his head, getting ready to go into action, the rider pulls back on the reins which are attached to the bridle and bit, to bring the horse to attention, and most times the horse will highly respect that maneuver and stand still.

Same principle is involved in our waiting on the Lord.

Notice the response duly given from God in our obedience to wait--renewal of strength, and courage, among others.

Do you reckon there would be less depression today if people allowed God to renew their strength, and give them courage?

You know why people lack those two attributes? I do...because they aren't willing to wait. They don't have time to wait. Duh! Not until they have an accident and get laid up in a hospital, or lose a loved one in death, and have to go through the grieving process.

God loves us with an everlasting love. His love is unconditional, but His blessings aren't.

When we love Him in return, He is constantly striving to teach us how to be more like Him.

The wait mode is a teaching tool He loves to use on us, and when we understand the relevancy of its effect, we begin to mature.

Have you ever watched a potter with clay on the wheel as he shapes the clay into a vase or pot or some kind of useful vessel?

When we act flippantly, rebelliously or indecisively, we crack our pots.

That's why I said earlier He keeps me close to the Potter's wheel.

You see the visual here, right?

Well, God is the Potter, and we are the clay. And when we sin, or as I refer to myself, fall in the ditch, He picks us up when we repent, and takes us in His hands as a lump of clay, and puts us on the wheel and fixes the cracks in our pots, so we're whole and useful again.

That may seem like a crude analogy, but it works for me.

Many times through the years, in my self-sufficient capabilities, I would ask God to do something, and I'd get no answer. So I'd wait...like shifting from one foot to the other. But, if He didn't answer me real soon, I'd go ahead and do it myself, and be proud I was able to do it. Then suffer the consequences! Ugh!

Now, though, my self-sufficiency is no more. As Paul said, our sufficiency is of God.

In the waiting, He teaches me His will.

So, my challenge to all of us in closing is, can you wait? Will you wait?

As Jesus entered the Garden of Gethsemane, the night before He was crucified, He asked His inner circle to wait and pray while He prayed. His prayers were so intense that His sweat became as drops of blood (hematidrosis), but His disciples slept instead of praying. Then they scattered. Fear kept them from waiting.

Waiting serves a purpose greater than ourselves...remember, it's an art, like listening. Only if we're listening will we hear the still small voice of God. Only if we're waiting will we find His perfect will and direction for our lives.

I'm waiting...how bout you?

D. S. Mullis

Copyright.2016