Waiting. Waiting is hard. In today’s world, we expect everything to be available now. All the information we could ever want is at our fingertips. Gone are the days of driving to a library and doing research. If we want a new shirt, book, or even food, it is all available with the push of a few buttons without leaving our comfy sofa or PJs. While all of this convenience has many benefits, it also has disadvantages. We struggle with patience and self-control. We have become conditioned to expect everything now. However, life doesn’t work that way; many situations require waiting.

In my life, my family has gone through some long waiting periods. Years ago, we surrendered to the Lord’s call to serve Him in ministry. We couldn’t just jump in and begin; it required an education. We relocated our family to attend Bible College, which lasted six years, in a state ten hours away from our family and home church. While there, it felt like forever. We wanted to serve God on the mission field, our children were growing up right before our eyes, and the clock was ticking away. Our time there ended when we sent our oldest child off to college.

Could we begin ministry after that? No. We needed to attend training through our mission organization and raise financial funds so that we could serve God in missions. That took five more years. Before finally leaving for Japan, we sent another child off to college. We had hoped to serve as a family of six, but we are now down to a family of four.

  Did we struggle with frustration? Yes. Did we ever consider giving up during those eleven years? Yes. Those ‘waiting’ times were not wasted. God used them to help us persevere, grow in our relationship with Him, and learn to rely on Him for all of our needs. “The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26

God says He is good to those who wait for Him and seek Him. We saw that in our own lives. If we had tried to take shortcuts or give up, we would not have experienced His goodness in the same way. While it was not easy, it was necessary. He was preparing us for what was to come. If we had not had these periods of waiting, God could not have shaped and molded us to be used for His plan and glory.

“In this you rejoice, though now for a little while, if necessary, you have been grieved by various trials, so that the tested genuineness of your faith-more precious than gold that perishes though it is tested by fire-may be found to result in praise and glory and honor at the revelation of Jesus Christ.” 1 Peter 1:6-7

While none of us wants to go through trials and hardships, they are necessary for our growth, just as waiting is. If we didn’t go through them, we would stay the same. Through being tested by fire, we are refined like gold, removing all our impurities. As Christians, we are called to be holy as God is holy (1 Peter 1:15-16). This refining is part of that process.

I don’t know about you, but as hard as the process is, I don’t want to stay the same; I want to be supernaturally changed for God’s glory and purpose.

There were some wasted years, but when we surrendered the time to God, we finally realized there was much to learn in the waiting.

What about you? Are you in a waiting period? What is God teaching you? Don’t waste this time.