We are all waiting for something. And that something we are waiting for is a really big deal.

Culture encourages us to be proactive. Move! Act! Take the Bull by the Horns! Yes, there is a season for action. But sometimes we either CANT act, or we are invited to WAIT.

I almost annoyed myself typing that. “Invited” to wait. Nobody wants to wait for anything, at least I don’t! We are conditioned, well versed and rehearsed in immediacy. We have good reasons to hurry, and we convince ourselves that hurry is warranted, justified and necessary. But what about the old saying: Only Fools Rush In?

Could there be wisdom in waiting? I am starting to learn that our willingness to wait is directly connected to what we believe. In other words, what we believe (and where we place our faith) determines our willingness to wait.

So is there wisdom in waiting?

The Bible is full of examples illustrating the wisdom in waiting, as well as the consequences of rushing in. As I continue to search out God’s Promises, a few theme have emerged:

1. Most promises are not immediately fulfilled.

2. Taking matters into our own hands results in disastrous consequences.

The greatest heroes of the faith were made promises and asked to wait. I often wonder what grace I’ve forfeited or what needless pain I’ve endured because I didn’t have sense enough to wait. It all goes back to something I touched on yesterday, cultivating the art of waiting.

I know that some of the things we are waiting on carry huge, maybe even faith altering implications. But at the end of the day, if you believe that God works all things together for those who love The Lord and are called according to his purpose, if you seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, if you believe every good and perfect gift comes from the father of lights who does not change like shifting shadows, then what’s the problem with waiting because if you have been invited to wait there must be some extremely important, possibly life altering reason for the delay. There has to be, otherwise our waiting is meaningless and I refuse to believe that.

For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God’s will. And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified. Romans 8:24-30