Waiting!
This is definitely not something that I am good at but it is a necessary part of life in this busy age we live in! Everything, it seems, needs to be instant and somehow waiting is relegated to the bottom of the pile of what is necessary in life.
In creation, there is a lot of waiting to be done – e.g waiting for the birth of a child; waiting for a new season to emerge; waiting for a young sapling to grow into a mature tree – to mention just a few. It seems that our Creator God has purpose in all the waiting times and procedures. He certainly didn’t hang about when making this Earth. He spoke and what He said came into being. Maybe that is why we, made in His image, expect everything to be done instantly but then again perhaps we’re not speaking out what needs to happen!
I remember waiting for the time when God provided me with a wonderful husband. I think I waited longer than Abraham waited for his son, Isaac, after God promised this to him and his wife Sarah. It seems that God’s timescales are so different from ours which is why quite possibly we are in need of patience so that after we have done the will of God we can receive what he has promised (Hebrews 10:36). The receiving by faith in Abraham’s case came long before the reality of seeing the promise being fulfilled.
How our children need to know that ” … without faith it is impossible to please God… .” (Hebrews 11:6) and how do they and we gain faith? – ” … faith comes by hearing and hearing by the word of God.” (Romans 10:17) – the Bible – an astonishing book interpreted to us by the Holy Spirit so that at different times the same Scripture we read can speak to us in various ways according to the need or situation that we face. How we need to be immersed in God’s word so that we can learn to wait for God who is always on time.
I remember reading about George Muller (of Bristol) who God used to care for hundreds if not thousands of orphans. He had to travel to the States by ship and there was a lot of fog and the captain of the ship that he was going on said that the ship couldn’t sail because of it. George simply prayed and pronounced that he was going in that ship that day and the fog lifted and he was able to go to his destination. What we speak is so powerful as we learn about faith and copy our Maker in this.
We use faith everyday e.g. to sit on a chair; to ride in a car; to eat meat from animals (that we don’t even know!). Let’s encourage our children to wait for God for He will surely act as we ask of him. God may well be more interested in developing our patience as we keep on asking and seeking and knocking (see Luke 11:1-13) and waiting for the answers!