Wait
By Doug Bing, Washington Conference president
The voice was rather insistent. WAIT! A few moments later, the same voice in the same tone: Wait! In fact, every few seconds I kept hearing the voice telling me to wait. I didn’t see any reason to wait. In fact, I could clearly see that there was no logical reason to wait.
I was standing at a crossroads. The stoplight was green, but the walk sign was not. The button was pushed, signaling that I wanted to cross. However, the minute it was pushed, that very insistent voice started to tell me to WAIT! There were no cars coming. In fact, I didn’t see any cars that would put me in danger. From all appearances, it was clearly safe to walk. The voice said wait. Do you want to know what I did? Some of you are thinking I went ahead and walked anyway. You would be wrong. I chose to wait. Other times I have not always chosen that path, but this time I waited.
Waiting can be really annoying. Waiting can be painful. Waiting without an explanation of why you are waiting is even worse from my perspective. Waiting when you see absolutely no reason to wait can also be frustrating.
Psalm 27:14 (NKJV) states:
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!
Waiting on God can be challenging at times as well. Maybe you feel like you see a clear way forward, but you clearly hear from God that you should wait. Maybe you are praying for something and you can see all the reasons why your prayer should be answered the way you want. At times, you may see later why you had to wait, and it all becomes clear. Other times, you may never understand why you had to wait. In fact, you may have to wait until Jesus comes, and you will find out in eternity.
What have you been waiting on?
Maybe you are praying for a wayward family member to return to Jesus. Maybe you are praying for healing. Maybe you are praying for your coworker or a neighbor, and nothing seems to be happening. The text not only challenges us to wait, but it also encourages us that as we wait, God will strengthen us.
The parable of the ten maidens waiting for the bridegroom tells of those five maidens who, even while they waited, kept focused on Jesus and were ready to move when the waiting was over. The other five were also waiting but were not prepared during the waiting time to see the wedding.
As you go through your life seeking God’s will, you may feel like you are waiting for no apparent reason. In those times of waiting, stay focused on Jesus and gain strength and courage for the wait. When the time comes, there will be another message—just as I received that day.