Life’s Waiting Room
By Jill Beran
Tuesday, June 28, 2016
The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him. Lamentations 3:25 NASB
But Mom, I don’t want to wait! I don’t like to wait and I had to wait yesterday!
Clearly waiting is not something my son enjoys… in his eyes it’s not fun and it causes frustration. If we’re honest, I think you and I might say we can relate. We may not express it like a toddler, but I haven’t met anyone who admits to enjoying time in life’s waiting room.
Waiting isn’t something we volunteer for, but almost daily we do it. Waiting in traffic, waiting for a phone call or waiting for a child to finish their meal. Life includes more challenging waits as well… waiting for a diagnosis… waiting for Mr. Right… waiting for God to open a door. Waiting… I think we can all agree it’s part of life.
I’ve been trying to teach this to my kids and the fact that it’s part of life didn’t change their perspective, so I went a bit deeper. During waits, I tried to help them find something to do.
As my little guy waited for Christmas, we read a book leading up to the celebration. When my daughter was waiting for a friend to come, we played a game to pass the time and as my oldest waited for his first game, we spent some time in prayer. The wait didn’t disappear, but my kids’ perspectives and their attitudes changed.
As I taught my kids a lesson, God helped me learn one too!
Friend, it’s a given - waiting is part of life, so perhaps we too should learn what to do in the wait. Lamentations 3:25 offers a great first step.
In life’s waiting room, we must look for God. This is easier said than done, but it is possible.
We must make a choice to look for Him. We can choose worship over worry. We can go to the Bible, our faith book, instead of Facebook. We can set our minds on Him, instead of what we are waiting for. We can pray and ask Him for help, rather than let our thoughts run and focus on what we can’t do.
The waiting room of life may never be our favorite, but may we realize it’s one that has a purpose! It’s a place we can seek God and see Him!
What are you waiting for? What are you doing in the wait? Stop for a minute and think about where you can seek God in this situation. He is present in the wait and He’s working in it too. Look for Him. Find Him in His Word, His creation and in His people.
El Roi, thank You for the powerful reminder that Your name provides… You are the God who sees now Lord, I pray I’m a child who seeks. Help me make the choice to look for You. Open the eyes of my heart to see You Lord. Use this time in the waiting room to strengthen my faith and grow my relationship with You. Help me trust You more Father. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
© 2016 by Jill Beran. All rights reserved.
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