Expect the Lord

noun

1. the capacity to accept or tolerate delay, trouble, or suffering without getting angry or upset.

Is it just me or is it really hard to be patient sometimes? Quite often, I find myself in this type of scenario: It’s around the 4 o’clock drag when I decide to grab a pick me up and I find myself behind a lady who clearly doesn’t know what she wants from the menu. As she makes the barista go through what feels like the entire menu, I’ll find myself tapping my foot impatiently, letting out a small sigh, and shaking my head. All I want is my venti sparkling strawberry acai refresher. I’ll become impatient, annoyed, and frustrated because I need my refresher! (If you’ve ever had one, you understand). But, is it really necessary for me to become so bent-out-of-shape because the Starbucks line isn’t moving as quickly as I’d like it too?

Definitely not

This scenario is also similar to events that take place in our everyday lives. I’m not sure how many times a day I turn to God and ask “What do you want to do with me?” and then instead of waiting patiently for His answer, I turn around and try to figure it out myself. This is an example of how easily we can grow impatient with Him because He only answers on His timing.

I have often tried to put God in my “box of perfectionism” and made statements like:

• He’ll do this for me because…
• My life needs to turn out this way…
• If I pray this way, God has to answer it.
• Etc.

The endless list of similar statements can lead us to grow very impatient because this way of thinking can be dangerous.

God is so much bigger than the boxes of perfectly organized plans we have for our own lives. He has begun to show me the beauty in patience and spontaneity because my plans are so small and boring in comparison to His. We should all have the willingness to open our hearts up for Him to occupy. He is a God who is sovereign and will shake your world in the most beautiful way possible, you just have to be patient in the silence and willing in spontaneous situations.

It tells us in Jeremiah 29:11, “For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.”

This verse shows us that God has a future planned for us. Why? Why would He have plans for an impatient, reckless group of people? It is all because of His love for us.

We often have this idea that God is just sitting up in Heaven looking down on us and not answering our prayers. Because of this mentality, we grow impatient. When in reality, He is listening to every plea, every unspoken prayer, and He is carefully considering your every request because He is making sure it’s in line with His plan.

There’s a quote from a very wise man named Brennan Manning and it says this,

“I could more easily contain Niagara Falls in a teacup than I can comprehend the wild, uncontainable love of God.”

His love for us is uncontainable, irrational, and all-around unfathomable. He loves us more than ever imaginable and it is our duty to wait on Him for every major decision in our lives. We need to be patient with Him just like He is patient with us.

Psalms 27:18

Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord.