Do I Really Have to Wait?

When you are in a transitional phase of your life, it is incredibly easy to think that maybe you took a wrong turn and are on the wrong path. Sometimes you may feel determined that you heard from God and have done everything you can do to stay within His will, and yet you still haven't had your breakthrough or haven't seen your dreams or goals come to fruition. It's during those periods of life that it can be easy to just give up and settle for less than what you know God has for you. Many people do just that.  Many people settle in and live in the grind that they hate because stepping out in faith is not only scary, it is often hard. Even after you step out in faith, or simply do what you feel led to do, there can be a waiting period before you finally step into your calling. However, we must learn to not despise the wait. We must not quit in the middle of the wait. If we do, we will likely never see the fulfillment of our dreams.

When I started thinking about waiting, two of my favorite Old Testament characters came to mind: Joseph and David.  Joseph received a dream at the age of 17, however, that dream didn't come to fruition until he was 30 (see Genesis 37-41). He went through a 13 year wait that took him to a pit, sold into slavery, and even landed him in prison. I am sure he went through some incredible mental struggles from time to time, thinking about that dream and how it would probably never come true. It must have been incredibly discouraging. My little struggles are nothing compared to being a slave or getting thrown into prison. David was anointed to become king around the age of 15, however, he didn't come into power until he was around 30 (see 1 and 2 Samuel for his story). He had approximately a 15 year wait from the time he was pulled out of a pasture until he sat on the throne. He went through some tremendously scary years of running for his very life. Some of his struggle and anguish are recorded in many of the Psalms that he wrote. However, even in his struggles he stayed true to his faith and kept his focus on God.

I love stories like those. I love to see how others have had to wait for their dreams to come to pass, it encourages me. There are so many lessons to be learned in those times of waiting. Those periods of waiting are what season us to be able to flourish when we do step into our destiny. The struggles we go through keep us humble. They ensure that we don't trust in ourselves. If Joseph would have given up and just become negative and depressed when he was sold into slavery, he would have never been put in charge of his master's household. That would have probably kept him from being in a position that landed him in prison. That sounds great, except for the fact that the prison was the very vehicle that brought him to the throne. Joseph kept his eyes on God and chose to serve wherever he was placed. Thirteen years later, that faithful service brought his dreams to fruition when he became second in command of an entire kingdom. There are examples over and over of similar times of waiting in the Bible. I often find myself struggling during times of waiting. Just like everyone else, I want to get all the blessings without having to exert much faith or trust. We all live in a microwave world where we hardly have the patience to wait from one window to the next at a drive-thru restaurant. However, God is not in the business of instant gratification; he will use the moments between a revelation and its fulfillment to develop in us the skills that we need to operate in our calling. Our job is to make the most of those moments and keep our faith grounded in the one who placed those dreams within us.