Patience. There’s so much wrapped up in that one word. It’s something that is tested on probably a daily basis. If there’s one thing (among many) that I have learned to work on in my life, it’s patience. You can ask my husband when we’re in the car! Traffic is probably one of the most frustrating things to me. What about being stuck in a long line at a store with only one register open or having to work with a coworker that you don’t like? How about sitting at a doctor’s office for an hour before they take you back then sitting for another 30 minutes in the actual room? Come on, I know it’s not just me!
I think the ultimate test of our patience is when we have to wait on God. Has someone ever told you, “Don’t worry. It’s all in God’s timing?” Although I 100% agree with that statement, if I never hear it again it’ll be too soon! I KNOW it’s all in His timing. THAT’S what sucks. I understand it. I get it. It’s a constant reminder that I’m not in control of my situation and my flesh hates it. If I’m stuck in traffic, I can find another route. If I’m at a store or doctor’s office, I can leave. With God, I can’t do anything but wait.
We’ve all had to wait on people and circumstances at some point or another. It may be just for a week or month. For me, it’s been years. Years of the same thing. Years of the same questions. Years of waiting. I still have a tendency to look around me, in the natural, and see other people’s lives moving forward and mine standing still. But, spiritually, my life has moved far past what others have, and I wouldn’t take back a second of this time of waiting because of what I’ve learned about myself and, more importantly, about God.
In order to testify that God is who He says He is, we have to experience Him in a way that tests our faith of what we’ve been taught. I grew up in a Christian home, went to a Christian elementary, junior and high school, was involved in church, youth group and worship teams, but I could never tell you exactly the role that God played in my life other than my Savior. That part I understood. Jesus died for me then rose again three days later and is coming back again one day. I could tell people until I was blue in the face that God is the Comforter and the Counselor. He’s the Prince of Peace and Emmanuel, God with us, because that’s what I had heard and learned growing up. But, I couldn’t testify to those aspects of Him because I had never experienced those aspects of Him. How can you attest that someone is who they say they are without having experienced it for yourself? You can recite back what you’ve been taught or what someone else has told you about someone, but you cannot give an accurate testimony of someone’s character unless you know them personally.
In the waiting period of life, you discover who God is for you. You find Him for yourself – not what other people have said He is. You get to be a character witness of God Himself. It will come with a challenge of everything you’ve been taught. You’ve heard He’s Abba Father, but have you let Him in to truly be that for you? You’ve heard He’s Jehovah Rapha, the God who heals, but have you had to believe Him for healing? If you’ve never had to believe Him for anything, how can you say He’s your Provider? You cannot testify to those aspects of Him if you’ve never experienced Him that way.
Waiting is hard. It’s extremely grueling. It will take every ounce of faith that you have. Why does God make us wait? (Read my blog “Embracing the Process” for more on that) There’s so much more than what we see. God gives us a step-by-step idea where He sees the big picture. What we see as difficulties and hard times, God sees as a potential opportunity for you to know a different aspect of Him. God’s glory is most of time a poorly wrapped package masking an invaluable gift. If you judge the gift by the wrapping, you won’t want what’s inside, but if you accept it and open it you’ll find what’s gifted to you to be irreplaceable.
It’s in the waiting that you learn the aspects of who God is. It’s in the difficult times that you have to learn to trust. It’s in the painful trials that you have to believe in His majesty. It’s there that we learn to focus more on Him than ourselves. We should be happy about waiting!
I can stand today and testify that God is my Rock because I’ve had to rely on Him at the lowest points of my life. He is my Comforter because as I bawl my eyes out, He’s right there wrapping His scarred hands around me. He is my daddy, Abba, because I’ve experienced His fatherly love. He is Emmanuel because He’s never left me even when I push Him away. He is the Prince of Peace because His shalom surrounds me when my mind starts to give in to anxiety and stress. He is the Counselor because He’s guided me through the waiting. He’s my Deliverer because He showed me how to overcome fear. He’s Yeshua, my Messiah, for saving me. And, I know He is the Great I AM. He is everything I need Him to be when I need Him to be it. I can attest to all of these things and more because I’ve experienced Him that way. I know who He is and my authority in Him.
That’s what waiting has taught me. Don’t look around at the mundaneness of life and get overwhelmed that your life isn’t where other people’s lives are in the natural. Take this time to seek God. Ask Him to show you parts of Himself that you would’ve never known if you hadn’t been waiting or going through a trial. The Bible says we are to let patience do its work so that we may be fully developed (James 1:4 paraphrased). Look at the opportunity in front of you to learn who God is for you. Difficult times and having to endure patience is not always just about you. God isn’t sitting on His throne commanding bad things to happen to you. He wants you to discover the different aspects of who He is. In the end, you’ll gain more knowledge and wisdom of Him and become a character witness of the one and only Jehovah, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.
We serve a mighty God, and there’s NOTHING impossible with Him!
Lavah Ministries 