“Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for him: fret not thyself because of him who prospereth in his way, because of the man who bringeth wicked devices to pass.” (Psalms 37:7). One of the most frustrating answers to our prayers has to be not yes or no but wait. If we're going to get a yes or a no in six months, why not tell us now instead of making us wait in agony and indecision? Well, for starters, if we are miserable while we are waiting, then we aren't doing it right. We certainly aren't waiting patiently. We might assume that God is just messing with us, like He's trying to tease and tantalize us by holding our answer just out of reach because for some reason He enjoys watching us suffer. But does such behavior sound like the actions of a perfectly loving and compassionate Father? I don't think so. The truth is, if we are told to wait, this waiting period is actually a gift. This is a time for us to rest in the Lord. Once we've got our answer we are going to be running a million miles per hour, especially if we feel that we have to catch up or that all of that time waiting was somehow wasted. And that's not necessarily bad. Once we have a clear answer, God expects us to be anxiously engaged and devoting all of our time, talents and energies towards turning that answer into reality. But when there is no clear answer, or the clear answer is “not yet,” then God has other plans for the next stretch of our lives, one of them being for us to rest up and build up reserves of strength and wisdom that we would be unable to do if we were always running from one clear answer to the next. Waiting patiently on the Lord does not always have to be so hard. If we will only have the faith to receive with an open and grateful heart this precious gift of time where we can simply rest in the Lord and trust that He will open the way before us just as soon as He has determined we've had enough time to catch our breath.
