When Waiting Is Hard

Waiting is such a hard thing for me. I am a planner by nature, I love to know what's ahead. I haven't met a single person who enjoys waiting. When God gives me an idea, I get so excited that I want the end result immediately. Sometimes, while we are sitting in the silence of the wait, we feel like God is ignoring our prayers. God isn't ignoring our prayers but sometimes the answer is "not yet". I'll be honest, I don't love that answer when it's given to me. I usually reply with, why not!? I experienced a time of waiting in my life (more than once, but this one stands out to me). I was desperate for God to answer my prayer so I tried to control things. I went from doing my part to trying to do His part too. Needless to say, that didn't go over well. I believed I knew what was best for me and tried to take matters into my own hands. I'll be honest, it didn't work. When I finally came to end of myself, I started pressing in to God. I began to pray more (most of the time it was desperate pleas for this prayer to be answered, just keepin' it real!) and I began to read my Bible a lot more. I wrote down scripture and meditated on it. As I drew closer to Him, I started to relinquish my control. As I was in this waiting period my husband and I traveled out of town. When we got to our hotel, I immediately noticed a church sign across the road- you know the ones where churches post quotes or sayings to get you thinking. Well this one really spoke to me - it said: "God's time is always time enough." I knew God placed those words there for me. After that, I relented. I started to trust God's control more, I began to trust His sovereignty. I felt His peace again. Eventually I saw the answer to that prayer but it didn't come without the lesson. I'm grateful for what I learned during that period of waiting (hindsight!). Even after learning this lesson, it's still hard for me (#controlfreak)! If this is something you struggle with as well, I encourage you to rest in the promise of 1 John 5:14 (ESV): "This is the confidence that we have toward him, that if we ask anything according to his will he hears us. And if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests that we have asked of him." Heavenly Father, thank you so much for sustaining us in those trying times of waiting. Help us to present our requests to you and to know that if our desires align with Your will, we will have them. Help us to be patient and to trust in Your sovereignty.