Wait for the LORD and keep his way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it. Psalms 37:34 (NIV)
When we are certain something is coming we can wait for it patiently. We can even anticipate its arrival with great joy. The building of anticipation of the upcoming event often increases our joy. When we dwell on the event, excitement builds, thinking of all the joy it will bring, be it a marriage, a vacation, a greatly anticipated event, a birth – or whatever our heart’s longing, we wait patiently and in the waiting it builds eagerness and hope.
When we are waiting on the Lord to bring forth His good pleasure, it places value on His Presence. It stirs up our zeal and affection to seek Him more fervently and earnestly. Oftentimes, long deferment of an answer to prayer places even more value on what we are seeking and pleases us more sweetly when answered. “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life”, Proverbs 13:12 (NIV) tells us, and indeed this is true. The expectation and waiting, it would seem, enlarges our souls and, as stated, things long desired and then fulfilled often please more sweetly. Waiting is not for naught either. There is purpose in the wait. God is always working in the wait – even though we perhaps cannot see His Hand moving on our behalf, it always is. God’s timing is perfect and He waits for the “fullness of time” to bring about what He has planned. And it seems He is never in a hurry.
King David waited for years before the long awaited promise of being King over Israel was fulfilled. Yet God used all that time and all those experiences to make him into the King he desired for Him to be. There is a preparation period for every child of the King. When we become a Christian, we do not become Billy Graham overnight. God wastes nothing in our lives either – particularly our pain. We often experience great disappointment when hope fulfilled is deferred yet we do not want to waste this fleeting time of waiting on the whatever. God desires for us to use this time wisely and not waste it. Time is a terrible thing to waste. And knowing that there is purpose in the wait fuels our hopes and dreams. God is always working. We are to continue to do the next right thing for His glory and for our good – following hard after Him – until our faith becomes sight
I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Psalms 27:13-14 (NIV)