The Archives: Patience

This blog is an adaptation of one of the first sermons I ever delivered back in 2015.

When I was a little girl I had this idea that I would be married by the time I was 22. My mum was married at 22 so it only seemed logical that I would be as well. Fast forward to just before my 22nd year of life and it dawned on me, I did not have a boyfriend, nor was I even close to getting one, harsh reality suddenly came rushing in and I realized this dream of marriage at 22 was not going to come true.

 Since then the desire hasn’t changed, I’d still like to get married, and there are a number of things that run through my head when I think about this desire and why God hasn’t delivered on it.

 The first one is that it’s bad of me to want this. I shouldn’t want something like this because I should want God more right? I should want God the most. He is number one. But this doesn’t take away that fact that I still feel this deep desire to one day be someone’s wife. After all, it was God who said it isn’t good for man to be alone and the fact that Eve was created to be a helper to Adam proves to me that it’s within my DNA to want this.

 So if it’s not that the desire is inherently wrong then it must be that there’s something wrong with me. I’m not pretty enough or I’m not ready enough to have a husband, I’m too confident, I’m not confident enough, it’ll happen when I least expect, I’m not putting myself out there enough, I need to ask God for it everyday, I need to make a list, I need to screw that list up and throw it out the window, I need, I need, I need….maybe, just maybe, what I need is to just be me with Him.

 So if the desire isn’t wrong and there’s essentially nothing wrong with me, then it must be because….the timing isn’t right? Because God just might be asking me to wait for His best instead of who I would choose for myself?

 We so often think that the reason that dream or desire or promise hasn’t come to pass is because there’s something wrong with us, I’m not skilled enough, I’m not equipped enough, I’m not good enough when actual fact it’s not about what God is leading you to but what He wants to do in you. Too often we bring the focus back to ourselves and our inability instead of God’s ability.

 There is any number of reasons that only the Lord knows as to why this desire of mine hasn’t been met. What it has resulted in thus far is an understanding of what it means to wait well. I don’t by any means have this down pat, I certainly have my days where waiting just sucks. Because waiting just sucks.

 The challenge though has always been to wait well. How do you do that? How does someone actually wait well? How do you remain patient for those desires of your heart? Is there such a thing as being comfortable whilst you wait for the Lord to move or deliver on that desire?

 Point 1: Eyes on the Promise-maker not on the promise

 If we’re going to be comfortable in waiting for God to deliver on His promises or our dreams then our first step is to actually believe in the promise or dream or desire of your heart. It’s there for a reason, God has given it to you for a purpose. It is not meant to remain idle and it is not redundant.

 Point 2: The second thing I have learned in this season of waiting is that you need to wait expectantly.

 In Psalm 130:5-6 it says

I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.
I wait for the Lord
    more than watchmen wait for the morning,
    more than watchmen wait for the morning.

 The Psalmist is comparing waiting expectantly on the Lord to the night guards of the city who watched the passage of time in anticipation of the coming dawn when they would be released from duty. Think about that, the promise is that dawn will come, but you can’t see it yet, the attitude of the watchmen in waiting is eagerness. Expectation it will come.

Point 3: Waiting well for that promise or dream is about persevering.

Yes, that annoying word.

Because it isn’t easy to wait, no one wants to have to wait but if any of the great men of the bible I mentioned earlier gave up imagine the consequences. It’s about maintaining a steady course and not stopping.

I’ve never been much of a gardener- in fact, I think I killed my succulent this week.  But if we look at a gardener who plants a seed in the ground, from the surface it doesn’t look like a lot is happening, but something is changing. That seed is changing. The gardener has to patiently wait for that seed to germinate, sprout, push through the soil, grow to maturity and then produce fruit. But he doesn’t sit by and wait for that plant to do its thing. No, he waters it, tends, prunes away the branches that aren’t healthy, he perseveres in the hope that the plant will produce fruit.

If our farmer friend planted the seed and then gave up then there would be no fruit for him to harvest. Perseverance is about being of a single mind and single heart and the ultimate belief that the Lord will do what He has promised He would.

So if you are in a season of waiting and let’s face it, who isn’t? We’re all waiting for something, a family member to come to the Lord, a financial burden to be released, an identity realized, a spouse found, whatever you’re waiting for, I want to remind you of our Promise-maker, the One who will deliver on all His promises in accordance with His will:

For your God is your Promise-maker, he is your deliver, he is your creator, your provider, redeemer, comforter, protector, mediator, advocate, father, friend, forgiver, savior, healer, shield, your peace, your strength, your rock, your resting place, your strong tower, your hope, your comfort, your beginning, your end, and ultimately your portion forever.

So if He is asking you to wait, you’re in good company.