Recently, I flew to Iowa for Christmas. Of course, a highlight of this trip is the layover in the Denver airport which includes Chick-Fil-A. Now, I was flying on Christmas Eve so I did what any self-respecting human being would do: I checked to make sure they were open and performed the necessary analytics to determine if I had adequate time to get food and make it to my gate in time for my connection.
After thoroughly completing my research, all seemed to be in order for a successful visit to God’s chicken.
When I arrived, the line predictably wound through the roped-off area and continued on for several feet passed that. I counted 25 people ahead of me in line and quickly texted my wife to set off a mini contest pitting us against each other with time predictions on how quickly I would get my food.
Don’t tell me you don’t do this, too! You know you do!
I figured a minute per person while my wife calculated my wait time at a heavenly 15 minutes.
Then, I waited.
What things do you usually wait for? Stop lights, lines at the store, a doctor, payday, drive-throughs, the plumber, a customer service representative, spring, food delivery, people in your family, commercials, flights, traffic, etc.
Our world has many systems put in place to prevent waiting and speed things up. Roundabouts, fast Internet, call-ahead seating, online ordering, car-side service, notifications, next-day delivery, microwaves, instant anything, etc.
The other day, I heard of a company called SQ4D who is working on 3-D printing of houses. They printed a 1900 square foot home in 48 hours of printing over the course of 8 days. 8 Days!!
However, as much as we have tried to limit waiting in our world, we still have to wait.
A lot!
But because our world is so focused on quick, swift, instant, speed, now, now, NOW! when we have to wait on something, many of us are quickly annoyed, irritated, frustrated, and downright mad!
How well do you wait?
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14
Um, how about no thanks, God.
I don’t wait well. You probably don’t either. You’ve probably scrolled to the end of this article to see if I resolved my Chick-Fil-A story…
MMMMmmmmm, chicken and waffle fries…
Here’s why I think we don’t wait well. Or at least why I don’t wait well.
- I’m out of control. I’m at the mercy of another. I am not getting what I want when I want it. Go ahead, ask yourself, “Why don’t I wait well?”
- I need more patience. One of the fruits of the Spirit is patience while the fruits of the flesh include idolatry, strife, fits of anger, and envy (Galatians 5:19-24).
- I think some systems are stupid and actually hinder progress (like the terribly moronic and engineering calamity known as a stoplight near my home clearly run by a Communist government). This one is more like, “I know better”. Or pride.
- I want to be king. Serve me, love me, value me, pay attention to me. I want to be the one who decides what happens when. I’ve heard it said like this: “Why do we do what we do? Because we want what we want.” Check out James 4 for a little reality check.
How many of those resonate with you? In the midst of the busyness of life, the impatience of my day, and the increasing options to speed things up, God says, “Wait for me, be strong, take courage, I am coming in my time. Wait for me.”
Here’s also something I’ve discovered about myself: because I don’t wait well in small things, I really struggle to wait on God. Maybe you can relate to that.
Here’s what I believe God is trying to teach us in the midst of waiting.
Trust
Is God who He says He is and able to do what He says He will do? The Sunday School answer is ‘yes,’ but what about practically? Do you live this way? How can you change the way you wait so that it glorifies God?
Now, you’re probably anticipating that something terrible happened and I didn’t get to enjoy God’s chicken dipped in the streets of gold-en sauce.
You’d be wrong.
Kim won the contest—it took 13 minutes to get my food, and I made it to my gate in plenty of time to enjoy my food and take my seat on my flight…
and wait…
- In what ways do you struggle to wait?
- What are you hoping to receive by speeding up the process?
- Why do you think you are so resistant to waiting?
- How can you create intentional times of waiting in your life?