“The Lord is good to everyone who trusts in him, So it is best for us to wait in patience—to wait for him to save us—And it is best to learn this patience in our youth.”
—Lamentations 3:25–27
The poet Langston Hughes famously asked in his poem “Harlem,” “What happens to a dream deferred?” One of his musings—“Does it dry up like a raisin in the sun?”—became the title of a popular and famous play about the Younger family’s struggle to fulfill their dream of a better life. At the risk of spoiling the plot, the characters are still waiting in some level of uncertainty as the curtain closes.
Like the Youngers, when we have big dreams, plans, and goals it can be hard to be patient and wait for them to happen. Not everything happens right away, and sometimes the wait is uncomfortable. We may find ourselves wondering why it is taking so long to see the change we desire. We may even battle anger and sorrow in the midst of our impatience.
However, when waiting for God to move, it is necessary that our wait be marked not only with eager expectancy but also longsuffering. God doesn’t work on our time schedule. He has His own timing and does not think in the way of clocks and calendars.
For people who love to have everything in order, this can be frustrating. But when God has already promised every heavenly blessing in our lives, what is there to be impatient about? Why be impatient about receiving something we already know is ours?
Instead of waiting in impatience for your promise from God, wait in thanksgiving! God has already supplied all of our needs and made a way for us to be saved. He has already done His part in establishing the new covenant that granted us eternal life in Him and unbroken fellowship with Him, and He continues to work in our lives every day!
We don’t need to live in impatience, for God’s glory and blessings are already ours; we just need to thank God for already providing and trust that He will continue to work “for the good of those who love him” (Rom. 8:28)!
If you are waiting for God to move in your life today, take time in His Word and in prayer thanking God for what He has already done! You’ll be surprised how fast time goes by when you spend your time focused on all the ways God is blessing you in the present instead of anxiously waiting for what is to come.
