The Difficulty With Waiting

I think that one of the most challenging things that we have to do is wait. We’re not very patient folks, most times. My personal hardship with having to wait on something is when I can see how and why that something needs to be done a certain way, and I’m having to wait for others to figure it out. I have to watch them continue to repeat a pattern and not seem to learn that they have to change in order to fix it.

I also struggle with waiting when I know that God has something for me but I have to wait on His time instead of my own. My usual choice is to rush ahead, then stand there and tap my foot as I wait for Him to catch up.

However, it doesn’t work that way, does it?

We have to trust God’s timing. We have to trust the steps or hoops that we must go through to get to where He wants us to be. There’s a reason for everything. I can’t say that I’ve always been happy with some of the places that God has put me. Its value has only come after I can reflect and see the lessons He was trying to teach me in the first place. The point is, is that I did learn the lesson and, of course, I am STILL learning.

We have to open ourselves up, which is a risk, I know. However, when we open up to God then we can start to see the benefits of waiting. According to www.lifehack.org, there are 10 benefits to waiting. They are 1) Priorities become clear; 2) Develop perseverance; 3) (develop) Productive habits; 4)Understanding yourself; 5) Rest and regroup; 6) Patience; 7)Resourcefulness; 8) Tolerance and empathy; 9) Capacity and 10) Gratitude. I highly recommend that you go to the link and read how each benefit is explained in further detail and then think about how it can help you in the long run. I think that you will become pleasantly surprised at what you discover about yourself!

So, what did I learn from this? If anything, I can say that I am certainly humbled! This waiting thing can be for the pits, but…… then I get it. I start to understand the purpose. It was never to punish me but to teach me. I also learned that God has immeasurable patience with me (and all of us, for that matter). I’m growing and becoming better although still far from perfect. I’m also finding that I like myself more and the person that God wants me to become. Yeah, so even though it is extremely difficult to wait to learn His purpose for me, I’m learning that I can be okay with that (for the most part 🙂 !!) (Related post: Always Room for Growth)

What can you gain from this? It’s amazing the growth that you can go through when you learn the benefits of waiting. There is a purpose behind it. You don’t have to understand it completely but trust that the answers will come in time and at a time when God knows that you are ready to see it.