Aftermath: Coming Down The MountainSample

The Importance of Waiting

When I was a kid, one of my favorite things was when my parents would take us out to a restaurant for dinner. I’ll never forget a dumb thing that I did on one of those trips. 

The waiter was bringing the food out to our table, and as he set a fresh, hot plate of food in front of my brother, he said, “Careful, the plate is hot.” My brother immediately grabbed the plate to reposition it and dig in, and when he did, he winced in pain.

Because the plate was hot.

I laughed at my brother’s foolishness.

The waiter then set a fresh, hot plate of food down in front of me and once again said, “Careful, the plate is hot.”

How quickly we forget…

I immediately reached up, grabbed the hot plate to reposition it and dig in, and when I did, I winced in pain.

Because the plate was hot.

My brother laughed at my foolishness.

It’s hard to wait. When you have a major encounter with God, its exciting, stimulating, life giving. Add to that the sense that God has made you a promise about something. Perhaps you feel like God has called you to do something really specific with your life. That’s wonderful! The hard part is waiting.

But waiting is important. If you rush into God’s call on your life when He is saying, “Wait,” it’s like reaching for your food before it can cool off enough to be enjoyed. You could get burned.

In order to remain patient about God’s promises, you need to remember one thing: while the promises of God might be for you, they are not about you. God calls you for His purpose, and His purposes will outlast you. So don’t worry about when God’s promises will be fulfilled, focus on waiting.

Challenge:

1. How do you react to God when He is moving slower than you think He should?
2. What is God calling you to do today? How can you serve His purposes right now?
3. PRAY: Lord, thank you for Your promises. Help me to trust You with the timing. I give You control over the when and the how. In Jesus’ name, amen.