It seems that everyone is in a "period of waiting" for one thing or another (granted, I think anyone could say that whether they're waiting for a red light to turn green or waiting for the human race to find their new home on the moon--we're all waiting for something).
But there's other things people are waiting for: direction from the Lord on a career, an education, classes, a godly relationship, a husband/wife, children, grandchildren, a first home, a fifth home, etc.
Waiting isn't easy. Whether you desire to be in a relationship and to get married and don't see any hints that that's coming any time soon, or if you're in a serious relationship but marriage is as far as the deepest part of the ocean...and there's only one way to get there: the hard way. Whether you have four little kids who are a joy but so very challenging so you're waiting for them to just grow up a little, or you've been trying to have kids for years to no avail.
No matter where we're at, waiting is hard. And we need to stop thinking that we have it worse off than so-and-so because they are not waiting for the same thing we are.
Comparison is a corrosive sin that often takes the form of coveting, so instead of complying to bitterness, we need to cling to contentment.
Here are seven Bible verses to encourage Christians in our efforts to abide in, not strive for, contentment and patience.
1. Proverbs 3:5-6
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.
2. Romans 12:12
Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.
3. Colossians 1:11-12
...being strengthened with all power, according to His glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy; giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in light.
4. James 1:12
Blessed is the man who remains steadfast under trial, for when he has stood the test he will receive the crown of life, which God has promised to those who love Him.
5. Esther 4:13-14
Then Mordecai told them to reply to Esther, "Do not think to yourself that in the king's palace you will escape any more than all the other Jews. For if you keep silent at this time, relief and deliverance will rise for the Jews from another place, but you and your father's house will perish. And who knows whether you have not come to the kingdom for such a time as this?"
My thoughts:
The pressure was on for Esther. Mordecai saw that she was in a place of influence and believed that God had put her there intentionally. How easy it could have been for Esther to think: I wish this could all just end. I'm so sick of the pressure, the expectations, the trial. How often do we think the same way? But could we be in this period of waiting, waiting on the Lord to work especially, for such a time as this?
6. Hosea 12:6
"So you, by the help of your God, return, hold fast to love and justice, and wait continually for your God."
7. Psalm 37:7
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
If we are abiding in Him, then we are remaining in Him. I can't think of a more perfect pair than remaining and contentment. Trees bear fruit by remaining, by being content. If you want to bear fruit, then a time of waiting is the perfect time to remain, to abide.
Spend time thinking about people in the Bible who had to wait on the Lord for a long time. Abraham, Noah, the Israelites!, Hannah, David, Zechariah and Elizabeth, Lazarus and his lamenting sisters, Paul, and the list goes on! Waiting is not something that only we are familiar with. It is through waiting that we learn how to trust.
Let us learn to give thanks in everything (1 Thessalonians 5:18) because it is in a place of gratitude and contentment and humility that God's power truly penetrates the darkness.
