Written by Kat Bittner, volunteer and Board Member with Iron Rose Sister Ministries in Colorado
Waiting is hard. It can be one of the most unwelcomed and unpleasant aspects of life through which we have to muddle. And if you’re like me, prone to being impatient and annoyed, waiting can also be the most grueling test of our faith. Fortunately, it can also be the most rewarding faith builder because waiting perfects us and makes us complete (James 1:3-4).
When I look back on the times I was waiting on God in my own life, I see how very antsy I was. For instance, I couldn’t wait to grow up. I couldn’t wait to get married. I couldn’t wait to have children. I couldn’t wait to travel and see the world. Many times, I tried to intermediate God’s timing for my life and do things on my own. I entered relationships that were unholy. I forged friendships that damaged my spiritual state of mind. I went places and did things that weren’t indicative of a child of God. All this was done to expedite when and how I wanted the course of my life to unfold. I was much like Sarah taking matters into her own hand when she couldn’t bear a child (Gen. 15). And much like Sarah, my interference with God’s timing for my life didn’t exactly pan out for the best. I spent many years making choices in my life which were intended to hinder the wait. And they all led to heartbreak, negative consequences and a lot of sin.
I’ve come to understand through all of this that waiting on God requires a great amount of trust. We must trust that God is actively working in and through our lives to mold us into what He has designed. “And yet, O Lord, you are our Father. We are the clay, and you are the potter. We are all formed by your hand” (Is. 64:8, NLT). We must trust that God’s judgement is never clouded by selfish motives. We must trust that God’s perspective isn’t narrowed by human desires. And we must trust that God’s timing is consummate because He is the creator of time. (Heb. 11:3). God works in us in His time because it is His plan, not ours. And we need to submit to God’s authority over all aspects of our life because of His supremacy.
“Surely you have things all turned around! Shall the potter be esteemed as the clay; for shall the thing made say of him who made it, ‘He did not make me.’? Or shall the thing formed say of him who formed it, ‘He has no understanding’?” (Is. 29:16, NKJV)
The times I chose to make things happen in my life in my own time and by my own hand have always resulted in futility. But when I choose to surrender to God’s plan and trust in God’s timing, I’ve reaped only the best for my life. God’s timing gave me the man He specifically designed to be my husband and through that timing I have been blessed to share life with him for the past 32 years. God’s timing gave me four particularly created individuals to mother. With that timing I have experienced a most profound love and derived the subsequent joys of being Grammy! Finally, God’s timing brought our family to Colorado. And with that timing I have been blessed to work at a wonderful ministry helping families thrive in Christ. And I have been blessed to be a part of a church family that has given me strong and enduring friendships. Again, all of this was a result of God’s timing in my life. And my waiting on God.
God’s timing is an incredible thing. It is of great quality. It is significant. It is honest. It is timely and opportune. It is indeed perfect! We need only be patient to reap the blessings from waiting on God because God also waits on us. He waits on us to hear our praise, our confession, our thanksgiving and to be honored. When we wait on God and He on us, and when we enter a mutual relationship with Him, God treats us like we are the only one. “…. And I will give to each one a white stone, and on the stone will be engraved a new name that no one understands except the one who receives it” (Rev. 2:17, NLT). This is the special attentiveness that God gives to us. So, we need to trust in our waiting on God.
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