“Wait on the Lord, be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart; wait, I say on the Lord.” Psalm 27:14

I don’t know anybody who really looks forward to waiting for something. Most people fidget, get agitated, anxious or frustrated when they have to wait for just about anything, whether it is waiting at a stop light or for a grocery checkout line to move or for a long anticipated vacation or a lucky break. We just don’t seem to be hardwired to wait.

I have been spending a lot of time waiting in the last month. Just this past week I’ve waited in two doctor’s offices, a pharmacy line that on one day was a 30-minute wait and the very next day a 60-minute wait, and then there was the two and a half hour plus wait to get my car serviced. For over a month now, I have been waiting on a piriformis muscle issue to get better. It can be frustrating because every time I am in one of these waiting scenarios, I feel like something else is being put on hold. All of this waiting seems to be a waste of my time in light of the fact that there is something I want to get done, something, I feel is more important that waiting on one thing or another. Fretting about waiting does not help. And so, I find myself sitting or standing in silence, waiting.

Why does the Lord make us wait anyhow? During one of my waiting moments the text above came to mind. When we see the word waiting in biblical texts is is invariably set in the context of waiting on God’s timing, His blessing and His promises. Habakkuk was told to write the vision and wait for its fruition (Hab. 2:2-3). Jesus instructed the disciples to wait in Jerusalem for the manifestation of the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:4) Paul said that all creation is waiting for God to complete His perfect eternal plan (Rom. 8:23). Peter helps us to see that patience is one of the stepping stones for helping us grow in grace (2 Pet. 1:5-10). And the Psalmist lets us know that if we can learn to wait on God, our faith will be strengthened.