If Carl could just understand that it isn’t time for dinner. He is fed two times a day, one at 5:00 in the evening and the second when he wakes me up. This could be 3:00 or 6:00 AM. When he eats earlier in the morning he doesn’t understand that he must wait until 5:00 PM to be fed. He just doesn’t understand why he must endure this period of time between wanting his food and getting it.
Isn’t this the way it is for us? If we think about it, we are always wondering why something doesn’t just happen. We question God why the proposal for marriage, the promotion, or the birth of a child can’t come earlier. But for many of us, we feel like our questions are raised to deaf ears. Then, when we think it will never happen, it does.
Why doesn’t God just give us the things we ask for right away? Why do we have to wait? Could it be that the gift is in the waiting? Isaiah 40:30-31 states,
“Even the youths shall faint and be weary.
And the young men shall utterly fall,
But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength:
They shall mount up with wings like eagles.
They shall run and not be weary.
They shall walk and not faint.”
How many times have I looked at waiting as unproductive dead space in my life? Only focusing on the end result without perceiving God’s intent in the actual wait. In this verse, it states that those who wait on the Lord will have renewed strength. They will soar in this life far above the ordinary.
Practically speaking, the next time I wait for something (which is almost all the time) shouldn’t I spend more time reflecting on how God is present in the situation? If my intent can be on Him and not the end goal, maybe then I can brush off my own pair of wings, spread them out wide and soar over the endless possibilities that God has in store for me.
As for Carl, he can be seen following me around the kitchen. Wondering when I will finally walk to the pantry and open up the garbage can that stores his food. With no understanding of why he can’t be immediately fed, my little furry friend will once again be caught in this gap of time called waiting. 