Waiting

It is truly amazing how God teaches His children in times of waiting. Recently I have categorized waiting as an emotion/feeling as well as a verb. What I mean is that waiting is emotionally and spiritually hard. Waiting is never fun, whether you are a child waiting to open a present, or you are an adult waiting on a job that you have always dreamed of. The great thing about waiting is when it's over. I think back to when Michael and I were dating, we knew that we were going to marry each other, but we had to wait until we were finished with college. The wait was painful on so many different levels, but when we were finally married, we knew that the waiting was worth it. 

Lately, I have really been reflecting how God has developed me in times of waiting. 

This is what I came up with:

1. Going through the emotion and action of waiting has developed my faith in trusting God.

2. During any time of waiting I am acutely aware that God is in control and not me.

3. Waiting brings Michael and I even closer because we are reaching out for God together.

4. Waiting reveals the Lack of faith- I have found that when God has me wait, I tend to try and control the situation instead of trusting Him.

5. Waiting makes me really appreciate what the Lord has already done in my life. 

It is comforting to know that our brothers and sisters have also grown from a time of waiting. I am reminded of Abraham and Sarah waiting for a child. Abraham knew that he had been promised to have descendants as many as the stars,  Yet he and his wife, Sarah, still doubted. 

"I will bless her (Sarah), and indeed I will give you a son by her. Then I will bless her, and she shall be the mother of nations, kings of people will come from her. Then Abraham fell on his face and laughed, and said in his heart, 'will a child be born to a man one hundred years old? And will Sarah who is ninety years old bear a child?' Genesis 17:16-17

I completely relate to Abraham's response! He laughed at the thought that he and his wife, at their old age, could have a child. We do know that after a long period of waiting, Abraham was given a son by Sarah. In our own times of waiting we must remember that God is at work in us, and He knows exactly what He is doing.