The Daily Grace - The Discipline of Waiting

Waiting is hard. We wait in grocery lines, in traffic, in the doctor's office. We twiddle our thumbs, stifle our yawns, and fret inwardly in frustration. On another level, we wait for a letter that doesn't come, for a prodigal child to return, or for a spouse to change. We wait for a child we can hold in our arms. We wait for our heart's desire.

In Psalm 40, David says, "I waited patiently for the Lord". The original language here suggests that David "waited and waited and waited" for God to answer his prayer. Yet as he looks back at this time of delay, he praises God. As a result, David says, God "put a new song. . . a hymn of praise" in his heart. (Ps. 40:3).

"What a chapter can be written of God's delays!" said F.B. Meyer. "It is the mystery of educating human spirits to the finest temper of which they are capable". Through the discipline of waiting, we can develop the quieter virtues - submission, humility, patience, joyful endurance, persistence in well-doing - virtues that take the longest to learn. What do we do when God seems to withhold our heart's desire? He is able to help us to love and trust Him enough to accept the delay with joy and to see it as an opportunity to develop these virtues - and to praise Him. Waiting for God is never a waste of time.