Waiting impacts our precious commodity called time. Nothing makes us more jittery than when we sense its waste. And because we value time on a par with gold bullion, non-productivity can seem the equivalent of a personal bank heist. So, pity help the one who appears to be responsible for the bleed of our already scarce resource. You know what I mean; the car ahead of us that doesn’t instantly begin advancing the second the light turns green (she’s probably filing her nails; he’s probably texting). Whoever it is, is blissfully unaware of how much they’ve just stolen from us. They should be arrested! Where are the police when they’re needed? Probably enjoying their free coffee and donut down at the corner café. And it’s our hard-earned money paying them! Am I right? (and innumerably more).
God, too, is blissfully unaware of constraints on our time as He reigns in timeless eternity. Not that He’s unaware of the truckloads and boatloads of human angst sent whining at Him without ceasing. (What was it Paul said about praying without ceasing?) At a humanly unreachable altitude, God orchestrates all things in accordance with His unfailing love and faithfulness. Just imagine the instant system overload were He to attempt to synchronize all the begging, I mean praying, hurled at Him from 8,230,000,000 people!
Maybe there’s a value to be found in God’s gift of waiting. Yes, I meant ‘gift.’ Maybe that value is growth – in us – toward His heart. Underneath the many layers of noise in our days, there is a constant, still small voice (ssv) speaking to us. It may be that that voice is communicating boundless love, everlasting joy, Shalom, straight into our souls. It may be that our faith is diminished in not hearing those sweet messages. It may be that our frustrations, our impetuosity, our angry outbursts, our villainous judgments, all but completely block out His communications. Enter God’s gift, allowing us to process the magnificence of His ever-presence.
How much will we enjoy that richness today? What will He say to us? Whose life will be blessed as a result of our hearing? Whose heart will be encouraged from the overflow of our encouragement? What joy could aim itself straight at our hearts as a result of someone else listening? All it takes, friends, is time. PD
