The Waiting

Hello friends and followers! I want to apologize for my lack of blogging the last couple of weeks. Traveling and holidays interfered more than I expected. I will have to plan better for things next time. As for yesterday, I simply wasn't sure what God wanted me to blog about. Finally about 10 minutes before time to leave for church it came to me. I will add a warning to this post. I have been ill today and took some medicine. I rarely take anything and meds that would normally not cause drowsiness in others seem to knock me out. If I ramble today, I am sorry.

While getting ready for church last night I was thinking of a visit with some friends and praying for a direction their lives may be taking. It brought to mind times when Jeff and I have been anxiously waiting on God to open doors for us and a time when God used a person to speak into my life something I didn't want to hear.

About five years ago, during an altar service, a minister was praying for me and spoke a word of knowledge to me. I was struggling, as usual, with the season of waiting I was enduring. I cannot remember his exact words, but he compared me to a can of food that has a shelf life and told me that God knew I was on the shelf and knew when he was going to use me. I will openly admit that I wasn't very thrilled with prospect of sitting on a shelf for any amount of time. Patients may be a virtue, but its not always a pleasant fruit to bear.

Over time, I prayed through to an understanding of why I was being shelved. I began to read about others, especially in the old testament, who were made to wait. I found I was in good company. Actually, some of the best company, and It seems that the ones who waited the longest had some of the biggest blessings in the end! Here's a few I would encourage you to read more about.

Noah waited for rain. (Gen 7)
Abraham waited for a son. (Gen 15:4; 21:1-5)
Jacob waited for a wife. (Gen 29:14-30)
Joseph waited for a dream.(Gen 37:5-11; 42:6)
The Israelites waited for deliverance. (Ex 3:7)
Joshua and Caleb waited for victory. (Joshua 14:6-12)
David waited to be king. (1Sam 16:12-13; 2Sam 5:4)
Elijah waited for rain. (1Kings 18)
Jesus waited for His ministry and sacrifice. (John 2:1-12)

Jesus was fully God and fully man. Some how, in a way only God can comprehend, He was able to be born a baby and grow up knowing, from the very beginning, why He was on this earth. I think we lose that  in the jump from baby Jesus in a manger to Jesus turning water into wine. Have you not ever wondered why His mama told Him to do that? I think it was because He had been doing little things like that His whole life. I can just see, in my imagination, a chubby three year old hand reaching out to touch Joseph's smashed thumb and instantly making it better. Think about when He was twelve and inadvertently left at the temple. His response was one of surprise, "didn't you know I'd be about my Father's business?" I think in today's terms He would be saying, "Come on, Dad. You know me. Where else would I have been?" Yet, for 30 years he waited for the right moment to start His ministry that would lead to His sacrifice. All because He knew the importance of waiting.

I say to myself, “The LORD is my portion;
   therefore I will wait for him.” Lamentations 3:24 (NIV)

Jesus, when I compare my time of waiting with some of the examples you've given us in the Bible, including you, I realize its only a drop in the bucket. I get restless and impatient all to often. I know Your word promises that if we wait on You, You will restore our strength and allow us to soar. Help me, as you often have to do, to remember that my shelf live is far from expiration. I want to be like wine or cheese and age to perfection in my waiting. Not that I will attain perfection on this Earth, but that I will improve with the passing of time to be exactly what you need me to be when my time on the shelf is up and the promises are brought to life. Thank you for giving me dreams and hopes to look forward to while I wait, and thank you for your presence in my life making my waiting worthwhile. I love you and seek to bless you no matter what station of life I am in currently. In your wonderful name, Amen.