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Right now we are struggling with waiting on many fronts. We know the resources God has promised us and we trust Him to open every door - praying even now that He would do the impossible and make a way where there doesn't seem to be a way. Waiting for the IRS to let go of what is rightfully ours has been difficult. We've sent them every document and then some TWICE now. Still we wait for them to process our filing and unfreeze the resources that we need to help complete our adoption. Please be in prayer with us that God will open that door to us quickly.
We also are waiting on my eligibility for the Adoption Assistance Program at Target. I've been told two different explanations about when I would be able to submit expenses. The first scenario was promising - the latest has us waiting to travel. Our hearts ache at the thought of having approval from China to travel, but having to postpone our travels because I'm not eligible yet for the program. In wisdom it would make sense to wait if it means we can afford expenses by applying through the Assistance Program - but of course my heart is overwhelmed by the thought of that senseless waiting as I've been working for the company for 9 months now and they are telling me 4 of those months don't count...ugh. I've called the supervisor of the benefits team and am waiting for her to call back. Please be in prayer with us that God will open that door to us - and that expenses incurred earlier would be eligible so that we wouldn't have to wait to travel. Originally, I was told August 1st, now I am being told August 14th because of a technicality about when the pay period starts on July 31 instead of in August and that I would need to wait for the next full pay period then. I think it has more to do with how the policy is interpreted and by whom...prayers that God will make it plain for them and for us too.
I read this devotional back in September before seeing George Mason's photo...I found it yesterday. I think God is showing me again to trust him - ruthlessly with all things including my heart's desires. Moments, destinations, and events that He has planned for us sometimes require waiting - the kind of waiting that hurts.
LIFE IN THE WAITING ROOM"They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength." Isaiah 40:21
We've all heard the prayer: "Lord, make me more patient - and do it now!" Of all the spiritual virtues, patience is one that tends to be troubling elusive. Let's face it; if patience is a virtue, most of us are not very virtuous. It's flat out hard to wait.
Think of how you feel when you're late for a critical engagement and caught in a traffic jam. I find it tough when I'm in a hurry and rush to the "10 items or less" line at the grocery store, and then have to wait while the guy in front of me pulls 16 items out of the basket and casually chats with the clerk. How did I know it was 16 items? I counted them, piece by piece!
When life or people don't measure up to our expectations, being patient can be quite a challenge. But it's clear that God wants us to develop this character trait. After all, patience is more than a virtue - it's a fruit of the Spirit. It reflects His very presence in our lives, for He is a patient God. If He weren't, we all would have been annihilated long ago.
So what's our problem?
There's a good probability that our struggle with patience has been unsuccessful because we've been trying to focus on our own agendas and time lines and not trusting that, for reasons best known to Him, God may have a whole different schedule for us. Our propensity to live with a short fuse is all about forgetting that God puts us in His waiting room on purpose, because He is often doing something behind the scenes while we wait.
It might be as simple as teaching us to be more concerned with the struggles and feelings of others rather than being totally taken with our own interest and plans. There is plenty of evidence as well that God interrupts the normal flow of our lives to open unusual opportunities to be used of Him in unexpected ways. Or, it just may be that God wants to give us the opportunity to show what His patience is like by demonstrating it to others.
One thing we can be sure of - God's time is always the right time. His management of our situations - whether in traffic or in the "ten items or less" line - is always the best management. Patience is not learning to wait for others; it's learning to wait on God and to cooperate with His work in our lives. Next time impatience begins to stress you out, stop and ask God what He is saying to you; ask Him to show you why your expectations and schedule have been hijacked. Then take a deep breath and trust. Trust that He is at work in you and in the situation.
So, the next time you have to wait, "wait for the Lord"!
I know great things happen when I wait on You - powerful events- miraculous changes!
So scoot over there some and give me a little room on the waiting bench - because if I have to wait Lord, I want to wait not just on You, but with You.
And if I must wait, I want to wait with the purpose of knowing You more.
Waiting with hope - and expectation.
To see Your power working from the front row of my own life.
Knowing the best place to wait on You
is on my knees
hands lifted up
heart held high
in prayer.
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