Psalm 62:1-8 – “My soul waits in silence for God only; from Him is my salvation. 2 He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be greatly shaken. 3 How long will you assail a man, that you may murder him, all of you, like a leaning wall, like a tottering fence?  4 They have counseled only to thrust him down from his high position; they delight in falsehood; they bless with their mouth, but inwardly they curse. Selah. 5 My soul, wait in silence for God only, for my hope is from Him. 6 He only is my rock and my salvation, my stronghold; I shall not be shaken. 7 On God my salvation and my glory rest; The rock of my strength, my refuge is in God. 8 Trust in Him at all times, O people; Pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us. Selah.”  NASU

Isaiah 40:28-31 – “Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Everlasting God, the LORD, the Creator of the ends of the earth does not become weary or tired.  His understanding is inscrutable. 29 He gives strength to the weary, and to him who lacks might He increases power. 30 Though youths grow weary and tired, and vigorous young men stumble badly, 31 Yet those who wait for the LORD Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, they will run and not get tired, they will walk and not become weary.”  NASU

I have become fully convinced that Americans are among the world’s most impatient people!  We do not wait well.  We want everything yesterday and waiting is a most difficult requirement for many if not most people.  It seems that we fit the prayer ascribed to Americans: “Lord, give me patience…And I want it right now!”  It is very difficult for a country that exists on frozen dinners, instant potatoes, powdered orange juice, packed cake mixes, lighting fast computers, and freeway express lanes to teach it’s young to wait.  Time waits for no man and most of us believe we are time and should not have to wait.

If the truth were known, many would rather do the wrong thing than wait.  WE HATE WAITING!  I have found that waiting is the rule rather than the exception in life.  The exception is the Open Door and when you have one – GO!  But waiting, when the door is closed does not mean you are out of the will of God.  It just might mean that you are in the center of His will while waiting.  We face more Red (stop lights) and Yellow (caution lights) than we do Green (go lights).  We are frequently faced with WAIT-WAIT-WAIT.  We need to discover the truth and revelation that WAITING ON GOD is resting rather than worrying!  You can many things in life and we sometimes attempt to fake it while waiting.  We appear on the surface as being patient but we are torn up inside.  We put on our plastic front that suggests peace but there is no peace inside.

Let me share a very old illustration that most have probably heard that has helped me understand.  It was a story about some American soldiers during the Korean war.  They had rented a house and hired a local boy to do their housekeeping and cooking.  That seems to have been a common happening during the Korean war.  The Korean man they hired had an unbelievable positive attitude.  He was always smiling.  The soldiers began to play tricks on him.  The nailed his shoes to the floor and the next morning he would get up, pull the nails out of his shoes and maintain his excellent attitude.  Then they put grease on the stove handles, and he simply wiped it off and kept smiling and singing.  They balanced buckets of water over the door to soak him when he walked through.  He simply dried off and kept smiling never complaining.  Finally, they began to feel guilty and called him in and said, “We want you to know that we know that we are never going to trick you again.  Your attitude has been amazing and outstanding.”  He smiled and asked, “You mean no more nail in shoes?”  They said, “No more!”  He asked, “You mean no more sticky on stove handles?”  They said, “No more!”  He said, “You mean no more water over door?” They said, “No more!”  He smiled and said, “Okay, then no more spit in soup.”  I know that is a bit gross but it reflects what I’m saying that what you see on the outside may not be what is happening inside.

Genuine patience is something that is acquired through learning to fully and completely trust!  Genuine patience enables us to enjoy TRUE PEACE at all times!  The question for each of us is, “Do we Trust and can we wait?”   There is more that I feel compelled to share on this but for now, we will pause and pick up here next time.

God, bless you as you learn to wait!