Waiting...

Patience. From a young age, we are told to be patient- to wait. Let me tell you a little secret... I don't do so well with waiting. I'm not impatient about everything, but there are times and things that make me one of the most impatient people on the planet!
I'm sure that I have written about this wonderful topic before, but until I master it, I will be struggling with it daily.
During my bible study on Thursday, we were discussing James 5, and in one of our discussions, Job came up. And in the course of talking about Job, the topic of patience arose. I have been reading in the Old Testament the past month, and it hit me. So many people in the Old Testament had to wait for things they wanted or were promised. Abraham was told that he would be the Father of nations, that his children would be as many as the stars. And yet, Sarah, his wife, was older than the childbearing age. Sarah wanted children but was unable to, so rather than being patient, she took it upon herself to use her maid to have kids through. Then when God told Abraham that he and Sarah would have a son together, Sarah laughed because it was a ridiculous idea for someone at her age. Then you have Rachel who didn't trust that God would allow her to have children, so, she to, offered her maidservant to her husband so that she could have kids through her.
Simeon was told that he would see the Messiah before he died, but he was never told how old he would be when that happened. Of course, there's Job who had everything ripped away from him and waited in agony to see where God was going to take him. The Israelites were told that they would enter the promise land, but they became impatient and chose to take things into their own hands which caused them to roam around the desert for another 40 years!
All these people got what they were promised. Abraham and Sarah did have a son, Isaac, through whom a nation was built just as God had promised. Rachel was able to have a son, Joseph. Job was given double what was taken from him, Simeon was able to see the Messiah before he died (and he was rather old when it happened!), and, the Israelites did finally make it to the promise land just as God had promised to them.
All these things happened, but it took time, some longer than others because they were impatient and tried to accomplish it on their own.
We have been given a promise from God. Psalm 37:4 says to "Delight yourself in the Lord and he will give you the desires of your heart."  Jeremiah 29:11- says, "For I know the plans I have for you, declares the Lord, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future."
I know these verses, but there are times when I choose to push them into the back of my mind in an effort to speed up the process. But, just like everyone else, I only slow the process. The plans that I have for my life should line up with what God's plans are for me. And, I honestly want what he wants. He is the author of my life. He is the one who knows the ins and outs of me, as well as, the details of every situation that I will ever face. Patience is something that everyone deals with. It's one of those never ending life lessons.
But, when you think about things that take time, you end up discovering things that are beautiful. Flowers take time to grow and bloom, waterfalls depend on rain for their power and that rain may take years to come, and powerful storms take the combination of just the right fronts coming together.
It's a daily decision that I must make, but if waiting for His timing will result in an amazing life that I love, then it's one worth waiting for.