Hurry up! …and wait. Have you ever felt this way?

I am for the most part a very punctual person. I am usually on time…or even early for just about everything…even with my 2 boys and their craziness!

Just the other day…I was rushing to an appointment and I made it right on time. Thank goodness! I checked in and then sat down in the waiting room. And I waited…and waited …and waited. Finally, I was called in by the nurse.

I hurried…rushed…probably sped (not recommended) to this appointment…only to wait in the waiting room. I did my part…getting there on time…but I had to rely on someone else’s timetable to be seen.

Have you had a similar experience? I am sure we have all had many!

Waiting rooms are designed for just that…waiting! So why are we so surprised when we actually have to wait?!

Maybe because for some reason waiting in waiting rooms is not very comfortable. Waiting rooms are a place of inaction…or lack of activity. And that’s why in doctor’s offices, hospitals, and other places…the personnel often offer coffee, drinks, and sometimes even food to those who are waiting in order to make them more comfortable. There are magazines to read and even TV’s to watch.

But does that really make us comfortable? Even with these amenities, who would choose to spend their time…just waiting?

Even the Psalmist expressed his uncomfortable feelings when he wrote Psalm 130:6…

My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning… NIV (Not very exciting and notice he repeated himself too!)

In this modern day and age…no one likes to wait…for anything! And what makes it harder and more frustrating is when your waiting is dependent upon someone else and their timetable…especially God.

Are you waiting on God for something in your life today?

Our lives in this world are God’s waiting room.

I absolutely love this excerpt I recently came across from Max Lucado’s book “You’ll Get Through This” called God’s Waiting Room. He says…

Take a moment and look around you. Do you realize where we sit? This planet is God’s waiting room. T

The young couple in the corner? Waiting to get pregnant. The fellow with the briefcase? He has resumes all over the country, waiting on work. The elderly woman with the cane? A widow. Been waiting a year for one tearless day. Waiting. Waiting on God to give, help, heal. Waiting on God to come. We indwell the land betwixt prayer offered and prayer answered. The land of waiting.

Are you in God’s waiting room? If so, here is what you need to know: while you wait, God works.

“My Father is always at his work,” Jesus said (John 5:17 NIV). God never twiddles his thumbs. He never stops. He takes no vacations. He rested on the seventh day of creation but got back to work on the eighth and hasn’t stopped since.

Just because you are idle, don’t assume God is. “Be still, and know that I am God” reads the sign on God’s waiting room wall. You can be glad because God is good. You can be still because he is active. You can rest because he is busy.

Remember God’s word through Moses to the Israelites? “Do not be afraid. Stand still, and see the salvation of the LORD … The Lord will fight for you, and you shall hold your peace” (Ex. 14:13–14). The Israelites saw the Red Sea ahead of them and heard the Egyptian soldiers thundering after them. Death on both sides.

Stand still? Are you kidding? But what the former slaves couldn’t see was the hand of God at the bottom of the water, creating a path, and his breath from heaven, separating the waters. God was working for them.

God worked for Mary, the mother of Jesus. The angel told her that she would become pregnant. The announcement stirred a torrent of questions in her heart. How would she become pregnant? What would people think? What would Joseph say? Yet God was working for her.

He sent a message to Joseph, her fiance. God prompted Caesar to declare a census. God led the family to Bethlehem. “God is always at work for the good of everyone who loves him” (Rom. 8:28 CEV).

To wait, biblically speaking, is not to assume the worst, worry, fret, make demands, or take control. Nor is waiting inactivity. Waiting is a sustained effort to stay focused on God through prayer and belief. To wait is to “rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him; … not fret” (Psalm 37:7).

So perfectly said!

A key point from this passage is that unlike the waiting in waiting rooms…Waiting is not inactivity in God’s waiting room. And realizing that God is busy doing His part working on our behalf…we need to do our part resting in Him and waiting patiently for Him.

Waiting is a sustained effort to stay focused on God through prayer and belief.

How many of you know that focusing on God is intentional and does take some effort? Actually a lot of effort! Right?!

And because it takes effort…we have a tendency to skip what it takes to focus on God…and just wait…causing us to focus on our situation which is much easier.

How can and should we wait in God’s waiting room?

1.Waiting in God’s waiting room means reminding ourselves and trusting that God is in control no matter what.

A king’s heart is a water stream that the LORD controls; he directs it wherever he pleases. Proverbs 21:1 ISV

You will keep in perfect peace him whose mind is steadfast, because he trusts in you. Isaiah 26:3 NIV

2. Waiting in God’s waiting room means we don’t take matters in our own hands when God doesn’t move fast enough! Remember He is not idle. And remember that God’s delays are not necessarily His denials.

“My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts,” says the LORD. “And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. Isaiah 55:8 NLT

3. Waiting in God’s waiting room means praying without ceasing or giving up even when we don’t think He hears us. He hears you!

Be unceasing in prayer [pray perseveringly] …1 Thessalonians 5:17 AMP

I love the Lord, because he has heard [and now hears] my voice and my supplications. Psalm 116:1 AMP

4. Waiting in God’s waiting room means praising and thanking Him through the waiting period. It is amazing how our gratitude will so quickly change our attitude. Thanking and praising Him allows us to focus on His greatness and power.

Be joyful always, pray continually, give thanks in all circumstances; for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus. 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 NIV

5. Waiting in God’s waiting room means studying God’s Word and His promises.

Study this Book of Instruction continually. Meditate on it day and night so you will be sure to obey everything written in it. Only then will you prosper and succeed in all you do. Joshua 1:8 NLT

Waiting in waiting rooms can certainly be hard…but waiting in God’s waiting room…is no doubt…harder especially when you have been waiting a long time.

But we must remind ourselves that God is busy working on our behalf. He is never idle…He is never on vacation…He never twiddles His thumbs…He never stops working. He is doing His part in the waiting room…busy working on our behalf!

So how about you?

Are you doing your part in God’s waiting room?

Reflection Points:

1. Are you waiting on God for something in your life today?
2. Is it hard for you to wait in God’s waiting room?
3. How should we wait in God’s waiting room?

Action Points:

1. Waiting is not inactivity in God’s waiting room. Waiting is a sustained effort to stay focused on God through prayer and belief. Focusing on God is intentional and takes work.
2. Be encouraged that we can wait in God’s waiting room by intentionally focusing on God through the practical ways stated above. Review them.