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Wait. Don’t you just hate that word sometimes? In our fast-paced society full of fast-food restaurants, drive through ATMs, high-speed internet connections, text messaging and microwave ovens, even ‘instant’ pudding seems slow these days. I think the ‘art of waiting’ is being totally lost on us and our culture as we expect immediate results and become more and more impatient with processes that just take time. There is nothing ‘instant’ about finding purpose in life. It may take time to delve deep into your thoughts and find where your passions lie. As the world around us goes faster and faster it becomes harder and harder to slow ourselves down and allow patience for anything. We can even be impatient about waiting for our future to happen. We want it all NOW! The younger the woman the more ‘presto’ she expects her world to be because that is the only world she has ever known. But when something comes up which forces her to wait, she finally begins to realize some things just take good ‘old-fashioned’ time. Waiting doesn’t mean we just sit around and watch TV, twiddling our thumbs until our problems are solved. Not at all! Waiting is hard work and it takes conscious, intelligent effort! Some of the hardest waiting we will ever do is waiting on God. We never know how long we have to wait on Him which is what makes it seem agonizing! We can’t just ‘click’ a button and force God to make things happen in life and that can be so frustrating! David knew of God’s promises that lay on the other side of the wait and in Psalm 27 he wrote: Yet I am confident I will see the Lord’s
goodness Wait patiently for the Lord. The art of waiting means we can begin to rest in knowing…some of the best things in life take courage and patience as we wait and give it a bit more time. We have all used the word ‘perseverance’ but what does that really mean? Is it just rolling our eyes instead of swearing as we patiently wait for a slow internet connection? Is it not giving in to the temptation to honk our horn at the old lady who sits through a green light ahead of us? Is it being kind to the 16 year old kid at McDonalds despite the fact that it took more than 4 minutes to get our Big Mac and fries? Ummmm...no! Perseverance indicates endurance in relation to circumstances which may not be pleasant and may last a while. It also means to ‘remain under’, ‘bearing up under’ and my favorite ‘a quality of character that does not allow one to succumb under trial.’ Sometimes we may have to persevere for longer than we would like. Some things just take time. Perseverance is often a quality which is necessary in order to stick with the process of overcoming anything. Perseverance may come naturally but most often, it is learned through the heat of trials. A woman might have to persevere through loneliness, isolation and fear. She may have to persevere through relationship struggles or feelings of extreme frustration, unworthiness and failure. Sometimes it is necessary to persevere through opening old wounds and allowing them to heal again. Then there is the perseverance while going through physical pain while battling untruths that make you want to give up. We may have to persevere for months or it may take years. Sometimes it may seem to be taking forever, but you must know…sometimes it just takes a little more time. It seems crazy doesn’t it? I mean come on! To most people this ‘persevering’ stuff looks like lunacy! Wouldn’t it be easier just to give up than to put yourself through the torture of waiting? What could possibly drive the mind of a woman to persevere? The answer is hope! Hope is not just wishing to get something we would like to obtain. The hope of a woman who perseveres through fiery trials runs deep. This deeper hope is the concept of a positive outlook toward an expected end! The main underlying factor toward this type of hope is belief…belief in your goal, belief in yourself and a belief there is a Strength deep within you to help you through. “But those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Isaiah 40:31 Perseverance. Character. Hope. Patience. Belief. Strength. All positive attributes - and all produced through the art of waiting. Some things just take time. Waiting can be hard, it can be very hard! But with the right attitude, the art of waiting can teach us many of life’s toughest lessons in the process. That is if we let it. I hope you all make the most of your time.
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