God's Waiting Room

 Are you currently in God’s waiting room? 

Waiting for Him to heal you or a loved one.

Waiting for Him to answer that prayer you’ve been praying for years.

Waiting for Him to show you the next step.

    It seems there are many of us in the Lord’s waiting room. I’m not sure if I’ve known this many people in the waiting room before or if it’s because I’m in the waiting room that I recognize other people are in the room with me. Being in the waiting room isn’t always the most comfortable place to be. When we are in the waiting room at the doctor’s office we are sitting amongst strangers and we are all sick or we are there to see if we can get answers as to why something is wrong with us; thus making us all uncomfortable or on edge. 

    The Lord’s waiting room isn’t much different. We’re waiting for God to do something or tell us something to do. We are anxious and wanted answers yesterday. God’s timing isn’t always aligned with our timing. We recognize God is in control, but what happens if we don’t wait?

    I was reminded in Sunday school about Saul and him not waiting on Samuel at Gilgal. “Saul, however; was still at Gilgal, and all his troops were gripped with fear. He waited seven days for the appointed time that Samuel had set, but Samuel didn’t come to Gilgal, and the troops were deserting him. So Saul said, ‘Bring me the burnt offering and the fellowship offerings.’ Then he offered the burnt offering. Just as he finished offering the burnt offering Samuel arrived. So Saul went out to greet him and Samuel asked, ‘What have you done?” 1 Samuel 13:7b-11

Sit with me as I break these verses down by what jumps out at me. (I'm smiling at you as I pat the seat next to me.)

    The first thing that jumps out at me is that fear was a major factor in how Saul responded to Samuel’s late arrival. Saul’s troops were, “gripped with fear”, and I’m sure Saul wasn’t just sitting around chumming it up as the enemy troops were gaining ground. How often do we jump ahead of God because we are filled with fear of what we think is going to happen? When we let fear overtake us we tend to lose focus on God and his promises. We take control of the situation and do what we think is best only later to realize our fear never came to fruition.

    The second thing I notice is Saul did wait for the seven days that Samuel asked him to, but once that time frame was up he became impatient. Once the time that Saul thought was right expired he decided he would offer the burnt offerings to God instead of allowing Samuel to do his job as the prophet of the Lord. How often do we get impatient with God’s timing and do something that was not meant for us to do? We tend to be so focused on ourselves and our timeline that we don’t consider the big picture. While we are sitting in the Lord’s waiting room, God is working and only his timing will allow all the pieces to fall into the right place. He is working out all the details that we don’t even realize need attention. Could it be that when we don’t wait we not only miss out on a blessing, but we steal someone else’s opportunity to be blessed?

    The last verse and a question that no one really wants to hear, “What have you done” is asked. I’m sure this question was laced with disdain. Samuel was disappointed that Saul didn’t wait for his arrival, but the ultimate picture was Saul would lose his kingship because he did not listen to God. Thankfully, we can not lose our place as sons and daughters of the King because we don’t listen. We can, however, make a mess of things and have to clean it up before we can move forward.

    We don’t like to wait, but there is something special about waiting. We can use this time of waiting to draw closer to God. Every time we get anxious or impatient with waiting we can take it to God. While we’re waiting God is working. I had a friend/mentor tell me recently, “God knows,” and that simple phrase eased my anxious heart.

God knows we’re anxious.

God knows we want to know the next step.

God knows the problem.

God knows the answer.

    Being in God’s waiting room isn’t always comfortable or easy, but we can trust him. If we are waiting it is so he can work things out for our good. Even though it doesn’t always seem like it’s for our good, if we keep giving all our concerns, fears, and worries to him we will receive his peace and all will be okay. It may not work out the way we wanted or even thought, but it will work out so that God’s will and purpose for our lives are done and he receives the glory. 

“Wait for the Lord, be strong and let your heart be courageous. Wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14