WAITING IN FAITH ON THE LORD

‘The Lord watches over those who obey Him, those who trust in His constant love’ Psalm (33:18)

Waiting is hard and difficult. Sometimes it can also be joyful as in waiting for the arrival of a friend. At other times, it can be a very trying time filled with fear and anxiety as in waiting in doctor’s surgery for a diagnosis or the safe delivery of a woman in a labor room.
It is generally said that while there is life, there is hope, and while there is hope, there is life. As long as there is hope, no situation is impossible. But as we hope expectantly, we have to wait in faith for the Lord because He is our final hope. We live in a jet age and life is moving at a fast pace. Our culture is not one that teaches patience. Just watch the frustration of drivers behind a car that does not start moving the instant the traffic lights turns green. A two second delay makes tempers flare and horns honk. In fact, our fast paced culture programs us to expect everything instantly, and that includes answers to our prayers. It is the age of instant product.

Flor McCarthy SDB, in his book Sunday and Holy Day Liturgies rightly notes that people simply cannot wait. Thus we just rush headlong into the most important decisions of our lives and end up regretting. The result of living in a world like this is that we want instant results and want them fast – instant soup, instant tea, instant photos, instant relief from pain through drugs, instant relief from stress through alcohol, instant relief from boredom through television or pub and instant beauty through the use of cosmetics for girls even when we know that they may cause a new and worse problem.

How many accidents happen, how many mistakes are made, how many blunders are committed because of hurry. We grow impatient and frustrated if we have to wait. We just forget that certain things in life cannot be rushed. They need time and patience. Examples abound in life:

·         Farmers who plant seeds must wait for it to grow before harvesting

·         Athletes wait to train and prepare diligently for Competitions with a desire to win

·         A pregnant woman waits for her nine months period of gestation and development of her baby before anticipating delivery

·         Business people invest and wait patiently for it to yield dividends

·         Professional actors and Comedians patiently wait to rehearse painstakingly for a good public performance

·         Good teachers wait and take time to prepare lesson notes and do their home work meticulously to impact on their students

·         A child must wait and be patient to grow into adulthood

Waiting on the Lord requires faith and courage. It means to pause for further instruction and direction while remaining in the present circumstance, focusing, listening to God’s voice and watching for His intervention. At times we have been impatient and disappointed with the Lord when He does not operate according to our schedule. We even try to manipulate the situation and present Him with solution for blessings. But we must remember that God’s timing is the best and the solution to whatever problem we are facing lies in God’s hands. Our waiting is for God’s will to be done. So we have to learn to submit to God’s choice of how and when He will act. Waiting gives us an experience of our powerlessness – waiting in the queue that was not moving, waiting for some place or office to open, waiting to see the doctor or pastor and waiting for an examination result. People don’t like waiting because it brings home to them inner emptiness, poverty and a sense of dependence on others. We want to be always commanding and on top, and that is not always possible. We become impatient and restless because we are in a hurry. Sometimes unable to put up with waiting, people go away and opportunity is lost.
We must realize that Our Omniscient God is the master planner and architect, the Creator and ruler of time, and His time can never be late. God’s time is perfect. Let us then beware of going for quick and instant results or taking the false shortcut. As Christians, we can confidently wait, walk and live by faith and not by sight. Just because we cannot see what God is doing does not mean that He is passive and inactive. In time, our eyes will see proof of His faithfulness and His ordained outcome will become evident.
Rev. Fr. Michael Adefemi Adegbola, Director, Media Service Centre Kaduna Nigeria 2011