Waiting

One day I pondered what a big part waiting plays in our lives. In industry there is endless "down time" while machines are standing idle awaiting repair, or deliveries of raw materials are awaited. I think of security service personnel waiting long hours, perhaps in bad weather, for a suspect to show up. Waiting is part of the job; it's what you are paid for.

Some amateur enthusiasts willingly wait as part of their hobby. There is the nature photographer waiting endlessly for the perfect shot of an alighting bird, or the metal detectorist spending years hoping to stumble across a priceless hoard of buried treasure in a field.

Both these sorts of waiting have an obvious point to them. Someone who wishes to serve God awaits His timing. You have a call to serve, and you wait for God to confirm that call when a church or an organisation invites you to serve among them.

Humanly speaking it is frustrating when the waiting is long. It can feel pointless. But, as I keep reminding myself, it should also be seen as a positive experience. As I wait, I learn to depend upon God and view each day as an opportunity to prepare for service.

Signs of God's grace keep coming, brightening the waiting time. But I remain human, and the author of the book of Proverbs was writing to human beings when he penned the words, "Hope deferred makes the heart sick" (Proverbs 3:12). May the signs soon turn into the fulness.