I get upset when I need to wait on the phone to talk to a "live" person. I get upset when I need to wait in traffic. I get upset when folks don't meet my deadlines and I need to wait for their responses. I get upset when I need to wait in lines in stores for service. I get upset when I try to get an appointment and I need to wait a month or more to get one. But one of the things that upsets me the most is waiting to be seen by a doctor when he/she is running behind with appointments.
Recently I was having pain that concerned me so I made an appointment for that afternoon with a family doctor. Then I waited there for 45 minutes to be seen. In this case a computer problem put them behind schedule - at least that is what they told me.
Then I was told that I needed an ultrasound that day. So I was sent to the referral department where I waited another 20 minutes to be served.
The referral office told me that because their imaging facility closed at 4 pm I would need to go to the Womens and Babies Hospital for the ultrasound. But the appointment there was not until two hours later. So more time to wait.
But that wasn't the end. I waited another 45 minutes for the test. Then, since the order was stat, I had to wait in the waiting room after the test until the doctor called me with the results. That wait was another 45 minutes and that wait was worse than the others because I was concerned about the results, which incidentally turned out to be fine.
Two days later I had to see a specialist for another problem. There I waited in one of his rooms for 70 minutes for a 10 minute visit. I think that visit should have been free because of my wait. Isn't my time important too?
I recently had to schedule appointments with two more specialists. After I survived their office answering systems I found that I would have to wait from six weeks to two months for an appointment. I guess that I need to learn to wait patiently. Probably that is the best way to handle things and it certainly is better for your blood pressure and nerves.
But a more difficult problem can be waiting for God to answer our prayers. Sometimes we want instant answers and we get impatient waiting. But God does answer - in His time, in His way.
The Bible gives numerous examples of those who had to wait for various things. Jacob had to work and wait an extra seven years for Rebekah when he was tricked by Laban. Moses lived in the wilderness until God was ready to use him. Mary and Martha waited for Jesus when their brother, Lazarus, was dying. David often expressed frustration when he felt the Lord had forgotten him and he had to wait. But he too found that the Lord doesn't forget His children and He answers but in His time and in His way. We just need to learn to patiently trust Him.
In Psalm 27:14 we read, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart, wait, I say, on the Lord." And that is excellent advice.
Psalm 25:5 "Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day."
Psalm 33:20 "Our soul waiteth for the Lord: he is our help and our shield."
Psalm 40:1 "I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."
Isaiah 40:31 "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."
So Lord, enable me to run and walk and not be weary or faint, like the eagles. Help me to be able go relax and use for your good the times that I must wait.
(1) I trust in God wherever I may be,
Upon the land or on the rolling sea,
For, come what may, from day to day,
My heav'nly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me,
On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Tho' billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavn'ly Father watches over me.
(2) He makes the rose an object of His care,
He guides the eagle thru the pathless air,
And surely He remembers me,
My heav'nly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me,
On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Tho' billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavn'ly Father watches over me.
(3) I trust in God, for in the the lion's den,
On battlefield, or in the prison pen,
Thru praise or blame, thru flood or flame,
My heav'nly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me,
On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Tho' billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavn'ly Father watches over me.
(4) The valley may be dark, the shadows deep
But O, The Shepherd guards His lonely sheep;
And thru the gloom, He'll lead me home
My heav'nly Father watches over me.
I trust in God, I know He cares for me,
On mountain bleak or on the stormy sea;
Tho' billows roll, He keeps my soul,
My heavn'ly Father watches over me.
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