We live in an Amazon prime world. It’s awesome! Especially when something ordered today will arrive tomorrow. But, even if it’s two days, we are excited. Recently I placed an order that was supposed to arrive with Prime delivery in two days. Well, it has now been 7 days! Seriously? I can be impatient at times. I want it and I want it now, or at least in two days. I am betting that I am not the only one who gets impatient in all sorts of situations.

The fact is, we don’t like waiting. We even have a tendency to get impatient with God. We want quick answers to prayers and quick solutions to our problems. We don’t want to wander in the wilderness for too long. We want “God Prime.” We want a two-day solution to show up on schedule.

Now there are some occasions in scripture where the wait time was relatively short. But, on many occasions, the wait was years. Think about Abraham, Moses, Joseph and David. How ever long the wait turned out to be, it was always purposeful. Those times were a gift in many ways, even in the hard times. I am beginning to see this in my own waiting season. The gift of confession and repentance, the gift of stillness and listening, the gift of deepening God’s life in me.

God’s Word offers many scriptures to comfort us and give us hope in the waiting.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.

Psalm 62:5.

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;

Psalm 130:5

Trust in the Lord with all your heart; do not depend on your own understanding. Seek his will in all you do,
and he will show you which path to take.
Proverbs 3:5-6

In all the waiting, God is working. It may be uncomfortable and sometimes painful, but it is not without purpose. If you find yourself in a season of waiting

lean into it. Let it do its work in you. Go ahead and cry the tears, ask the questions, lament was has been lost, speak honestly and with a humble spirit to the One who loves you, hears and sees you. Then, listen and offer your trust to God for such a time as this.

Some things are worth waiting for. God’s work in our lives is a life-long process that will never be delivered to us with “God prime” shipping. It is slow and holy work that over time changes us from the inside out and it is all for His glory.

Blessings and love, Jennifer Thomas