Waiting

     We always think of patience in the realm of putting up with other people.  But I think one of the most revealing synonyms for patience is the concept of "waiting."  And waiting is not our strong point.  Well, it's not mine.  Yet, patience--waiting--applies to every aspect of my life.  Yes, I need to wait for God to do His work in the lives of others without trying to get in the way by creating the "teachable moment" myself.  I must allow Him to choose the exact moment, the precise circumstances, that will teach His child exactly what He needs them to know.  I honestly don't know what it is they actually need to be taught, what exactly is it that they need to know so that God can use them where He chooses in His kingdom.  It may be that what I discern as their need is really not the heart issue at all.  But God knows the heart.  I must trust the ones I love to His love.
     And I must wait patiently in the circumstances God has placed me.  I am not in those circumstances by accident.  There is a divine purpose for my circumstances, and I should not desire to change them through my manipulations before His purpose is fulfilled.  If I have been struggling in those circumstances for twenty years, it is because twenty years is not enough time for Him to accomplish His purpose through me.  Too often my prayers are for God to do something for me when my prayer should be for God to do something for the kingdom through me.  If I am still in those circumstances, He has more for me to do where I am.  In a sense--and I hope this doesn't sound like blasphemy--I am through faith, waiting, being patient with God.  Because I know who He is and trust His promises completely, I can patiently wait for Him to act as He sees fit and when He sees fit.  "He knows the way that I take, and when He has tried me, I shall come forth as gold."  The purpose is more important than the length of the process.  It shouldn't matter to me how long it will take for God to purify me--to make me spendable gold.  The only thing that matters is when He is finished with me, I will be His gold.  Then, I will understand and embrace the ultimate purpose:  "The bride eyes not her garment, but her dear bridegroom's face.  I shall not gaze at glory but at my King of Grace.  Not at the crown He offers, but at the nail-scarred hands; the Lamb is all the glory in Immanuel's Land."  I will wait patiently for God to do His work in me because all the glory for eternity belongs to the Refiner not to the purified gold.  The purpose of the gold is to reflect the image of the Goldsmith.

"Yet, those who wait for the Lord will gain new strength; they will mount with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary."