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He Told Me To Wait
by J. Blair
I wondered through
The streets of life
Looking for a place
Free from strife.
Searching the world
Wanting to find peace.
Praying that all this
Pain would cease.
Asking God to release
Me from this hate.
Crying because God
Told me to wait.
I tried to be patient
Like He had said,
But I was dying and
My hands were red.
Dying for someone
I hadn't known,
Seeking a love I
Hadn't been shown.
Begging God to
Reveal my fate.
Pacing because again
He told me to wait.
I decided to listen
And obey His Word.
Trusting in all I'd
Read and heard.
Praising the Lord
For blessing my life.
Finding I would soon
Become your wife.
Thanking God for
Our blessed wedding date.
Smiling because
HeTold me to wait!
- November 5, 1994 |
I have never been the most patient person on the planet...far from it actually. In a lot of ways I am no different from my three year old when it comes to being told "just a minute". My kids have come to realize that "a minute" really varies as far as actual "length of time". I think if a timer were set, my average "acting" time on their request is more like fifteen to twenty minutes from the time I say, "just a minute". I really should stop using the 60 second time frame since what I'm really saying is, "be patient". I've had my children come to me many minutes later and say, "has it been a minute yet?" Boy, do I feel wretched when I realize I've forgotten all about it.
Thankfully God is the Perfect Parent, something I will never be and He will only give us a time-frame for our request if that's the actual amount of time it will t ake for Him to give us an answer. Most often though, I don't hear, "just a minute" from God....I hear, "be patient". Now, I don't know about you, but I don't handle that answer any better than my three-year old does. To put it in her words, "I! WANT! BREAKFAST! NOW!" And yes, she says it as though each word were it's own separate declarative sentence. Of course this doesn't make me feel very warm and fuzzy towards her and she'll usually get a reaction from me like, "Excuse me, young lady, you had best change your attitude in a hurry?!"
She will do anything and everything she can to force me to move faster and sometimes she'll even try to figure another way to get what she wants. More than once over the years, I've been met in the kitchen by thousands of Cheerios mounded on top of a cereal bowl that is no longer visible. They end up waiting even longer because now there is a mess to clean up first. I wonder if God looks at me sometimes the way I do my own kids. Does He shake His head and say, "If only you had waited."
"Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." Psalm 27:14 I have been guilty of pushing to get my way with God. Trying to orchestrate things the way I believe they should be. Forcing that square peg into a round hole if you will. When I go to God for an answer or advice or a request and He tells me to wait, I often find myself, like my kids, growing impatient. I tell Him , "I! WANT! AN! ANSWER! NOW!" He just patiently nods and says, "I know you do, but you're not getting one right now." I typically take this news with a mini temper tantrum. However, I have found that if I'll give in to the wait and accept it as His will, things go so much smoother. Often times I end up with far better than I would have settled for. On the flipside, when I stay impatient, I typically do something stupid and end up with a mess that is much more painful than merely waiting.
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