Last week I shared a parenting lesson about waiting that my kids helped me to see. In close proximity to that example was the one I’ll share today. God certainly had plenty to say to me about my season of waiting this summer.
As we prepared for our summer vacation with all of my husband’s family, I had volunteered to pre-make a bunch of desserts to bring along. It was time to bake, and my kids were going to help me. They were so eager to jump right in and get started. But guess what? More waiting. They tried to get going on their own a couple of times while I was busy with the preparation that needed done before we could start adding ingredients. This resulted in nothing good. They kept asking me, “Mom when are we going to get started?” What they failed to see was that I had already started and was working away; it just didn’t look like it to them. To them, getting started meant dumping ingredients in the bowl. But as anyone who has ever cooked before understands, there is a bunch of prep work to do in a kitchen before you can start dumping in the ingredients! I had to clear the counters, get out the mixer, get out some bowls, wash a few items, turn on the oven, etc. To them, none of this looked like I was starting on the treats, and they were dismayed that 1) they had to keep on waiting on me, and 2) that I wasn’t getting started! In reality, I was working and laying the groundwork needed for us to make the desserts.
So many times we think that while we are waiting, God is doing nothing. “God, why aren’t you acting on my behalf?!” “God why aren’t you changing this person… or this situation?” “God why aren’t you fixing this problem?!” What we may fail to see is all the groundwork that God is laying while we are waiting. God is always working on our behalf; Scripture says so, and so we can choose to believe it even when it doesn’t feel true. (Freebee – your feelings don’t always equal the truth!) Isaiah 64:4 says, “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived,
no eye has seen any God besides you who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” God is acting on your behalf as you wait on him. Never think that just because you can’t SEE the work he’s doing, that he isn’t working.
Deuteronomy 31:8 says that “The Lord himself goes before you.” You can be sure he is busy about the preparations for your next steps long before it’s time for you to take them, just like I was preparing the kitchen for our baking extravaganza.
If you are in a difficult season of waiting and wondering like we were this summer, I encourage you to choose trust today. Be reminded that your God is always working on your behalf. He is busy making preparations even when you cannot see his movements. He is going before you and preparing the way. Sometimes our job is just to “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7), trusting that he is already busy on our behalf.