Patiently Pondering Our Perpetual Lack of Patience

Did you hear about the physician who was always in a hurry? He had patients, but he didn’t have patience. (You may groan now.) Truth be told, patience is a virtue deficient in many of us. 

 

Think about it: On the roadways, our patience is tested almost continuously. Slow drivers in the fast lane. Traffic lights taking forever to turn green so we can proceed toward our destination. And the driver ahead of us apparently falling asleep waiting for the light to change. Traffic jams at the most inopportune times. Driving is my greatest reminder that my patience isn’t what it should be.

 

There are many other areas where patience – or one’s lack of it – is manifested: Doctors’ offices. The DMV (Department of Motor Vehicles) that might as well be the DMZ (Demilitarized Zone), since we feel like taking up arms. Store checkout lines. Important phone calls that seem way overdue.

 

You could add examples of your own, but the point is we’re a very impatient people. Waiting and suffering through delays are sure blood-pressure boosters.

 

If I hear someone say they’re praying for patience, I cringe. Because I’ve learned one of God’s most preferred and effective ways for developing patience is to use circumstances that force us to be patient. 

 

Patience is one of the most accurate measuring sticks of spiritual growth. For assessing spirituality, we tend to use tangible things like how often we read the Bible; how many Scripture verses we’ve memorized; how regularly we attend church, and how glibly we pray. But a much more accurate gauge might be described in Galatians 5:22-23: 

“But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law.”

 

Sometimes we misread that passage as stating the “fruits” of the Spirit, but as I understand it, these virtues aren’t separate; they’re part of the same tree, rooted in the Holy Spirit. In other words, if we exhibit much love and joy but manifest a serious deficit in virtues like patience, or goodness, or gentleness, that’s a good indication that – like symptoms that reveal an illness – something’s wrong.

 

As believers we should find ourselves growing in every aspect of the fruit of the Spirit, but for now let’s focus on patience. Because for some, patience is the greatest stumbling block. I’ve written about this before, but passages like Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him,” and Psalm 46:10, “Be still, and know that I am God,” have caused me considerable consternation over the years.

 

‘I don’t want to wait, Lord! ‘I want to do something – just tell me what to do!’

 

But how can we make ourselves be patient when that’s not our inclination? Some folks seem calm and composed regardless of the circumstances, and good for them. But what if we’re not wired that way?

 

This is why it’s important  to appropriate the truth of 2 Corinthians 5:17, that we are “new creations” in Jesus Christ. That everyone who’s a genuine follower must be “born again,” as He declared in John 3:3.

 

My friend Oswald Chambers, whose writings in My Utmost for His Highest have ministered to me for decades, explains it better that I can. In one entry he says:

“The mystery of sanctification is that the perfections of Jesus Christ are imparted to me instantly – not gradually…. Sanctification is ‘Christ in me.’ It is Christ’s own wonderful life that is imparted to me by faith as a sovereign gift of God’s grace…. Sanctification means that Jesus gives me His patience, His love, His holiness, His faith, His purity, and His godliness. All these are manifested in and through every sanctified soul….”

 

We want to nod affirmation to those statements, but deep down we’re wondering, ‘Yes, I believe that. But why do I still struggle with being impatient (among other things)?’ This is where the astonishing words of the apostle Paul come in.

 

In Romans 7:15-20 he wrote, “I do not understand what I do. For what I want to do I do not do, but what I hate I do…. As it is, it is no longer I myself who do it, but it is sin living in me….” 

 

When I first read this, I initially thought Paul was writing in circles. Later I thought his statement – “Now if I do what I do not want to do it is no longer I who do it, but it is sin living in me that does it” – was a copout. But the truth is, in Christ we are dead to sin – but sin is not dead to us. It can still influence our “flesh,” our sinful nature that remains with us.

 

We may never fully master impatience this side of eternity. It might even be for us the equivalent of what Paul termed his “thorn in the flesh” (2 Corinthians 12:7), a constant reminder of how desperately dependent we are on the Lord for living the way He desires.

As we grow spiritually, however, at the very least we can and should experience progress in this area – as well as others. As Paul declared, “I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me” (Philippians 4:13), and that includes being patient even when we see no good reason for doing so. Whenever I try to offer the excuse, ‘I can’t!”, the Lord is poised to respond, ‘I know. But I can!’ 

Finding Ourselves Stuck in God’s Waiting Room

Ever walk up to a cashier who says, “Sorry for your wait”? The first time I heard that I hesitated, wondering if she was referring to what the scales told me that morning. Then I realized she wasn’t saying “weight.” 

 

But many times we do wish people would sincerely apologize and say, “Sorry for your wait.” We’re an impatient people and hate being kept waiting, especially when driving. If we’re at a red light and the person in front of us doesn’t move the instant it turns green, we reach for our car horn to “wake them up.” 

 

When road construction narrows a highway by a lane or two, we see “special” people speed along the berm to get a few cars further ahead. Why wait when you can cut in line, right? And when someone decides to take his or her good old time in the fast lane, we’re inclined to think or say uncomplimentary things about their ancestry.

But our widespread lack of patience isn’t limited to our time on the roadways. Who hasn’t started fidgeting while waiting in the doctor’s office, checking the time every couple of minutes, nervously tapping our toes, or imagining new symptoms we didn’t have when we arrived? Physicians may have patients, but their patients quickly grow impatient.

 

Self-checkout lines at grocery and department stores have become popular because we don’t have to wait behind people at the regular checkout line who dilly-dally, ignoring the conga line of shoppers behind them. Recognizing our proneness to impatience, Amazon has capitalized by offering same-day delivery in some areas. ‘I want it. And I want it now!’

 

Our aversion to waiting becomes evident when we’re ready to leave for a special event but our companion’s still in the midst of final preparations. We grow impatient for someone to answer whom we’ve called on speed-dial. Patience may be a virtue, but our collective lack of it as a society serves as further evidence that we’re not a virtuous nation. 

 

So, it’s not particularly comforting for many folks to discover that waiting – and exercising patience – are important recurring themes in the Bible. They’re among God’s most effective strategies for fostering our spiritual growth.

 

You don’t want to know how many times the word “wait” appears in the Scriptures. The term “be still” is used more than a dozen times. And the words “patient,” “patience” and “patiently” combined are found more than 40 times. So, they must be significant for the Lord and His purposes.

 

In my favorite of the Psalms, we’re instructed, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7), and then for emphasis we’re told, “Wait for the Lord and keep His way” (Psalm 37:34). Verse 10 implies waiting when it declares, “A little while, and the wicked will be no more….” It doesn’t stipulate how long a “little while” will be. In the eyes of many of us, we’re still waiting for that.

 

What’s the purpose for all this waiting, this ‘being still’? Psalm 46:10 gives us a partial answer: “Be still and know that I am the Lord.” As we’re waiting, knowing we’re helpless – and maybe even feeling hopeless – to do anything about our circumstances, God is taking His time so that when the solution comes, there will be no question that it’s His doing.

 

Often periods of waiting have to do with suffering. Whether physical, mental, emotional or all of the above, we desire for our suffering to end. At such times, waiting and being patient are just the things we don’t want to do. But even in times of great adversity, God’s delays have a purpose.

 

Romans 5:3-5 states, “…we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us.” This informs us that suffering and waiting can be key ingredients for shaping our character and ultimately, our faith.

 

James 1:2-4 expands on that: “Consider it pure joy, my brothers, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith develops perseverance. Perseverance must finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.” 

 

Reading that, I’m reminded of Hebrews 11:1 which affirms, “Faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen.” Couple that with 2 Corinthians 5:7, which asserts, “We walk by faith, not by sight,” we realize that God’s “waiting room” is an important part of His process for building and strengthening our faith.

 

If the Lord gave us whatever we asked for, whenever we wanted it, that wouldn’t require much if any faith, would it? But He isn’t our servant. He’s our loving, all-knowing Father who promises to answer all of our prayers and requests according to His perfect will.

 

Sometimes we have a need that must be met immediately, and God graciously meets it. As Philippians 4:19 says, “And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus.” Other times, however, our ‘urgent’ needs are merely reflections of our impatience and reluctance to wait on the Lord’s perfect timing – never early, never late, but always right on time.

 

If you find yourself in God’s waiting room right now, keep trusting. The Lord certainly has something far greater in mind than to provide the answer to your prayers right now. In fact, He might even be preparing an answer that you couldn't have hoped for or imagined. I’ve experienced that many times in my life, even though admittedly, I’m still not good at waiting.

I Wouldn’t Mind Waiting – If It Didn’t Take So Long!

You’ve probably heard about the guy who prayed, “God, give me patience. How about right now!” We probably can all relate to that. Whether it’s sitting at a red light that seems reluctant to turn green, awaiting good news such as after a job interview, or just sitting in a doctor’s waiting room, being patient isn’t a strong suit for many of us. (Is being a “patient-patient” an oxymoron?)

 

So many things in life require waiting. We should be used to it by now. But if waiting is an art, most of us aren’t “artists.” For about a year, we’ve been waiting for this thing called the coronavirus pandemic to just go away. More times than I could count, I’ve said and heard others say, “I’m over it!” We’ve grown tired of masks, social distancing, not being able to go wherever we want to go, whenever we want to go there.

 And yet, despite our aversion to it, waiting can make many experiences more enjoyable. Years ago this was illustrated by the ketchup commercial that used the lyrics from the Carly Simon song, “Anticipation.” The pourer waited and waited for the ketchup finally to emerge from the bottle while the song’s lyrics repeated, “Anticipation…anticipation.” Finally, success! The condiment flowed onto the still-steaming hamburger, demonstrating that the wait was worthwhile.

 

I can still remember the weeks – even months – of anticipation I felt as a boy, waiting for the arrival of Christmas. I had studied the catalogs, shown my parents the things I would like when we went to department stores, and could hardly wait to see what I’d discover under the tree.

 

Sadly, we’ve become spoiled. We’ve grown worse at waiting than ever. Immediate gratification, we believe, must be written somewhere in the Bill of Rights. We want what we want, and we want it immediately. Later is not an option. 

 

We see evidence of this everywhere we go. Just the other day I was stopped at an intersection for a light and heard a siren. Fast approaching was a firetruck, so as the law prescribes, when the light turned green I waited to proceed until the emergency vehicle had passed. A driver behind me, obviously convinced of his self-importance, honked his horn at me and as he passed, made a gesture to display his impatience. Actually, I think the gesture was to indicate his IQ level.

 

Like it or not, time and experience have taught me that waiting is an integral, indispensable part of spiritual growth. Many times, whether waiting for a house to sell, for a new job opportunity to open up, for a financial crisis to be resolved, or for a health diagnosis and course of treatment to be determined, my awareness of how much I need and must trust in the Lord has heightened.

 

Many times in the Bible we find examples of the benefits of waiting – and the consequences of not doing so: Joseph waiting in prison until he was freed to interpret Pharaoh’s dream. The Israelites, when Moses tarried while meeting with God on Mt. Sinai, fashioning a golden calf to worship. David, after years as a lowly shepherd boy, becoming God’s anointed to become king of Israel. Judas Iscariot, losing patience when Jesus didn’t confront the Roman establishment, betraying Him for 30 silver coins. Obviously, those who waited were the wiser.

 

The virtues of waiting are extolled throughout the Scriptures, but nowhere more strongly than in Psalms. Written by King David, it admonishes, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes” (Psalm 37:7). Wow! Sounds like excellent advice for us in the 21^st century, even though these words were written thousands of years ago. 

 

In the same psalm, perhaps for emphasis, David writes, “Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it” (Psalm 37:34). Again, seems like good counsel for today’s times.

 

A few psalms later we read, “I waited patiently for the Lord; He turned to me and heard my cry – He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; He set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:1-3). Are you noticing a recurring theme?

 

Yet another psalm underscores the importance of waiting: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10). I’ve discovered that in those times when we’re frenetically moving, desperately determined to make things happen, it’s easy to lose sight of the Lord. In times of chaos and uncertainty, rather than adding to the frenzy, it’s usually best to do as the psalm suggests, just to “be still and know” that He is God – and we’re not.

The Pain, Privilege and Power of Waiting

Waiting. Whether idling at a traffic light, standing in a grocery store checkout line, or anticipating an important business call, most of us hate to wait. Patience isn’t a virtue in great supply. That is, unless our waiting involves someone or something we care about deeply.

Recently a speaker observed waiting can be an expression of love: The longer we’re willing to wait, the greater the measure of our love. For instance, sitting at a hospital bedside day after day, waiting for loved one to recover from a serious illness. A military wife anxiously anticipating her husband’s return after months of overseas deployment. A child staring out a window waiting for mom or dad to come home. 

Jesus’ parable of the lost son in Luke 15 tells the poignant story of a father waiting for a rebellious son to come home. This provides a vivid picture of how God the Father awaits the return of His prodigals. What great, undeserved love this demonstrates. A brilliant metaphor for His grace.

The desire of our waiting and longing, of course, isn’t always realized. Recently a friend lost his dear wife of more than 50 years to a long-term illness. Sometimes the hoped-for phone call never comes. But that doesn’t diminish the value of the love that inspires our willingness to wait.

When the expectations that undergird our waiting are fulfilled, feelings of joy have no match. Some friends had a critically ill daughter who waited weeks before she was physically ready to undergo major surgery. At last, the operation was performed, followed by a good prognosis. It was worth the wait.

Sometimes the desire that motivates us is directed to other objectives. People line up for 24 hours or more, wanting to be the first to latch onto the newest smartphone, or camp out for days to acquire tickets for their favorite musician’s concert. But how often do we demonstrate such love or devotion in waiting upon God?

Maybe we have to wait for Him to answer an urgent prayer. Other times it’s simply a matter of setting aside our busy schedules and everyday concerns to spend time with the Lord, reading and studying His Word, praying, meditating – and being quiet long enough for Him to speak to us. For many of us, this waiting is the hardest of all.

We tend to gauge our love for God by things we do: attending worship services; writing a check to support the work of His kingdom; participating in a service project; taking a short-term mission trip. But do we ever consider that the greatest measure of our love for Him is just spending time alone with Him?

In the Scriptures, particularly the Psalms, we see many examples of such love – and waiting. During one of his desert experiences, King David wrote, “O God, You are my God, earnestly I seek you; I thirst for you, my whole being longs for you, in a dry and weary land where there is no water” (Psalm 63:1). How often is this the expression of our hearts?

Sometimes as we look at the world around us, we’re tempted to wonder, “Where is God in all this?” We can take heart when we read another declaration from David: “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:1). 

He also wrote, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear and put their trust in the Lord” (Psalm 40:1).

Then there’s my favorite passage on waiting, one I’ve turned to repeatedly over the years: “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when men succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes…. Wait for the Lord and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land, when the wicked are cut off, you will see it” (Psalm 37:7,34). I can only imagine King David, faced with strong opposition, clinging to promises such as these.

Most of us willingly wait for a good friend who is late for lunch, a client yet to arrive for a critical meeting, or for the doors to open on Black Friday to take advantage of special Christmas bargains. Do we love God enough that we’re willing to wait on Him, however long it takes?

Wading into the Waiting Game

Whoever enjoys waiting, raise your hand. Next, tell us how long you’ve had problems telling the truth! I doubt any of us has much use for having to wait, although I suppose some can tolerate it more than others. 

I hate standing in line at the grocery store, especially behind someone whose casual conversation with the cashier indicates they have nothing to do for the rest of the day. And don’t get me started on my propensity for selecting the slowest-moving line. Sometimes I think traffic lights are programmed with a pernicious capacity for testing our patience. “Come on! Turn green already! What’s the holdup?”

By all accounts, however, waiting at a doctor’s office is the worst. Whether it’s for a wellness visit, sickness, or we’re there for some kind of treatment, we already hate being there. Having to wait only adds to what ails us. Recently I was scheduled for a medical procedure at a local hospital. My wife, who had to drive me home afterward, and I arrived promptly at 8:30 a.m., as instructed. Before long we were guided to a short-stay treatment room and told my case was next. The medical staff should be ready for me a little after 10. So, we waited.

As the clock approached 11, we asked what was going on. “Very soon,” we were told, but noon passed, then 12:30. Apparently the doctors and staff went to lunch. Everybody’s got to eat, right? Except for the patient who hadn’t eaten since 9 the previous evening. “Either get this procedure going,” I thought, “or bring me a cheeseburger!”

They finally took me into the treatment lab just after 1 p.m. The procedure was completed and I awoke from the anesthetic around 3, but we had to stay another eight hours before I was fit to leave! By the time the nurse signed my release, I wanted to run out of there – although they warned that wouldn’t be wise.

The other day my wife was preparing to leave for a day of babysitting with the grandkids when she discovered a tire on her vehicle was flat. She took my car instead, and I called for roadside assistance. Since changing a tire these days has become more complicated than solving a Rubik’s Cube, I willingly endured the 50-minute wait for the repair service to arrive. In this case, the wait was worth it. So I’ve had my share of waiting of late. It’s not fun, but sometimes it’s necessary.

Waiting is integral to the spiritual life as well. Many times God has said “Go!” and I’ve eagerly gone, but sometimes He’s said, “Wait!” I haven’t been as thrilled with that. Only in hindsight could I discern why I needed to wait – and why the Lord knew exactly what He was doing by keeping me in His “waiting room.”

Reading the Scriptures, it’s amazing how often God requires His people to wait on Him and the fulfillment of His plans. Abraham and Sarah were promised a son, but had to wait years for son Isaac. Joseph was central to the Lord’s plan to save the people of Israel from famine and relocate them to Egypt, but he had to suffer a series of seemingly unjust waits to prepare him for that role.

When time came for the Israelites to be freed from slavery in Egypt, God handpicked Moses to lead the way. But first he had to withstand 40 years in exile. The apostle Paul, following his dramatic conversion on the road to Emmaus, was placed in God’s waiting room for years, “marinating” him until he was ready to serve as a key leader of the early Church.

Faith is an important part of waiting, whether it’s anticipating the nurse calling you back to the examining room, or going into “pause mode” while God carries out His will – His timetable, not ours. When we take to heart God’s promises and accept them by faith, the waiting becomes easier.

For instance, Psalm 46:10 admonishes, “be still and know that I am God.” The only way we can do that is if we trust the Lord’s character, know He’s in control, and is after our best interests. For someone dealing with a terminal disease, that’s easier said than done. But not impossible, as several of my friends have demonstrated.

Psalm 37 presents both an action plan – and an advisory to wait: “Trust in the Lord, and do good…. Delight yourself also in the Lord, and He shall give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass.... Rest in the Lord and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:3-7). Then, in case we missed it the first time, the psalm adds, “…those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth” (verse 9), and “Wait on the Lord and keep His way” (verse 34).

The trusting, delighting and committing aren’t too bad. At least they feel like we’re doing something. It’s the resting and waiting that cause me difficulty.

Through the years, God has taught that if I’m willing to wait, even if reluctantly, He will indeed “do exceeding abundantly beyond anything we could ask or imagine” (Ephesians 3:20). Not so sure about that? Just you wait!

Overcoming a Big ‘Wait’ Problem

Nearly every week new reports surface about America’s growing weight “epidemic.” They speak about the alarming percentage of men, women and children tipping the obesity scale. It’s a problem, without a doubt. There’s another pressing issue that sounds the same, but looks very different: Our collective “wait problem.”

Our troubles with “wait” are magnified by our fast-food, microwaved, gotta-have-it-now mentality – as is its weighty homonym. Despite technological and cultural changes, the problem with waiting has plagued humankind ever since there was a…humankind. History shows us repeatedly the dire consequences that can result from inability to wait. The Scriptures offer many cases in point.

God had told Adam and Eve not to eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, but when the tempter suggested there would be no harm in sampling the tree’s fruit, the very first couple didn’t wait to ask for permission. They disobeyed God for the first time, setting in motion chains of sin dominoes that continue falling to this day (Genesis 3).

God had promised Abram and his wife, Sarai, would have a son, but they tired of waiting. Sarai told Abram to take her maidservant Hagar and have a child through her. Their plan succeeded, and Hagar presented Abram with a son, Ishmael. The Bible stated he would become “a wild donkey of a man; his hand will be against everyone and everyone's hand against him, and he will live in hostility toward all his brothers” (Genesis 16:12). We still see ramifications of that ill-advised choice today.

After fleeing from Egypt, the Israelites repeatedly demonstrated their reluctance to wait, much to their subsequent dismay. Other examples too numerous to mention appear throughout the Old and New testaments. It’s clear unwillingness to wait for whatever we happen to be desiring is hardly a 21^st century phenomenon.

Waiting, regardless of the reason,
isn't easy for many of us.

What have you been waiting for that has tested your patience? On the work front, it might be a new job, pay raise, or promotion. If you’re single, it might be finding Mr. or Miss “Right.” For some couples, it’s yearning for that first child – as was the case with Abram and Sarai, along with other women in the Bible like Rachel, Rebekah, Hannah, and Elizabeth.

Sometimes it’s something as inconsequential as a slow-changing traffic light; anticipating a much-wanted item to go on sale, or waiting for the new coach at State U to restore the alma mater to glory on the gridiron or court.

A wait problem can be frustrating and disheartening. The much-hoped-for objective seems just out of reach, and impatience sets in. This might be why essayist and poet Ralph Waldo Emerson advised, “Adopt the pace of nature: her secret is patience.”

Over and over the Scriptures assure us that having to wait is not a problem, but an opportunity. Psalm 37, after encouraging us to trust in the Lord, delight in Him, and commit all that we do to Him, admonishes, “Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him” (Psalm 37:7). Later in the same psalm, it reaffirms that instruction: “Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to inherit the land…” (verse 34).

After observing how dangers and turmoil around us might prompt us to leap into action, moving ahead of God’s plan, Psalm 46:10 tells us to patiently wait: “Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth” (Psalm 46:10).

Waiting receives added emphasis in Psalm 27:13-14, in which King David recalled how he learned to avoid headstrong acts: “I would have lost heart, unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord!”

One of my favorites, Isaiah 40:31, cites a particular benefit of waiting: "But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint."

We can find many other passages in which the virtues of waiting on God and His timing are highlighted. In our days of short attention spans and instant gratification, waiting seems a lost art. But it’s one well-worth recapturing. 

It’s All a Matter of Timing

This may come as a shock to family members and friends (not really), but I’m not always the most patient person. Especially behind the wheel of a car. Even when consulting with Gladys Penelope Snodgrass (GPS) regarding my travel route, it seems I’m always more eager than she is to know when my exit is coming up.

“Come on, Gladys,” I’ll think to myself, “are we getting close?” Then, after maintaining absolute silence for many miles, she speaks up and announces, “In two miles, take exit 56 on the right.” “Well, it’s about time!” I reply, but I know Gladys isn’t listening. She’s getting ready to remind me of the exit in a minute or two, then tell me which way to go once I’ve followed her instructions. She’s rarely early, but never late in providing the desired directions.

I’ve concluded ole GPS (I don’t know how old she is) doesn’t want me to get overwhelmed with too much information. “Just keep your eyes on the road – and the other vehicles around you – and I’ll let you know when you need to do something,” my smartphone-inhabiting roadway companion seems to imply.

When waiting for something important, we often
think, "Okay, any day now would be fine!"

When you think about it, for much of life, in the right timing is what matters in many ways.

Imagine you and your family are preparing to leave for a long-anticipated vacation. You’ve done the pre-boarding ritual online, so all you need to do when you arrive at the airport is check your bags, go through security and then head toward your departure gate, making sure your daughter, let's say she's age 7, sticks close by.

You, your spouse and child, of course, require separate tickets. Your daughter begs you for her ticket, but you continue to hold onto it until time to board. Why? First of all, you want to be certain she doesn’t lose it. “No ticket, no flying!” Airlines are funny that way. And second, even though she might want to hold her own ticket, she doesn’t need it yet. Better to be safe than sorry.

Your foremost concern is making sure that when it’s time for departure, like the Beatles used to sing, “She’s got a ticket to ride.”

Patience and timing can be problematic for many of us spiritually. We pray for something, maybe even an urgent matter, and then expect God to respond almost instantly – kind of like a short-order cook at a mom-and-pop restaurant. We might find ourselves beset with a seemingly unsolvable financial dilemma, seeking a much-needed career change, or desiring a happy resolution to a difficult family problem. God’s schedule, however, rarely aligns with ours.

I know of a couple that’s desperately praying for a new job. Their financial resources are nearly exhausted, and while there are several possibilities, no firm offers as yet. “Why doesn’t God respond sooner?” they might be asking. In turn, He might have questions of His own: “Have you missed any meals yet? Do you have any bills you haven’t been unable to pay?”

Like my friendly GPS and her faithful guidance when I travel, God usually doesn’t provide His answers early – but He’s never late. As Psalm 37:25 assures us, “I was young and now I am old, yet I have never seen the righteous forsaken or their children begging bread.”

The apostle Paul spoke directly to God’s sense of timing when he observed, “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9). The context concerns our eternal destiny, but I think the principle applies to any circumstances we face: “The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness.”

One of the so-called minor prophets affirms this in the little book of Habakkuk: “For the vision is yet for the appointed time; it hastens toward the goal and it will not fail. Though it tarries, wait for it; for it will certainly come, it will not delay” (Habakkuk 2:3). God, without a doubt, will be right on time.

So, when we’ve praying but have yet to see God’s answer to our petitions, what are we to do? Another portion of the psalm cited above provides the answer: “Delight yourself in the LORD; and He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, trust also in Him, and He will do it. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light and your judgment as the noonday. Rest in the LORD and wait patiently for Him…. Wait for the LORD and keep His way“ (Psalm 37:4-7,34).

It might not be easy, as I’ve experienced many times. But we have a clear promise: “Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He will do it.” And probably in a way that’s much better than what we would have imagined.