God's Waiting Room…Teach me to Wait

 Be completely humble and gentle; be patient, bearing with one another in love. Ephesians 4:2

Have you ever felt strongly convicted whenever you go through some particular scriptures? I would say I always do especially when I study the Account of Abraham and Sarah in Genesis; Of God’s promising them a son despite of their old age and of Sarah’s impatience. She ends up advising the husband to cohabit with her maid servant Hagar in an effort to quicken Gods promise, unawares that the very conception of her decision will bring trouble in her home. Little does that happen after Ishmael is born than Sara begins to blame Abraham for her actions. She hopes he calms down the storm she awoke. How now? I’d like to think I can’t do such a thing but honestly, I too get awfully impatient at times as far as waiting for Gods time is concerned.

 I struggled waiting on God after finishing campus and not 1,2 or 3 but 5 whopping years passed without a holding a pay slip! Yes, you heard me right. 5 years! Many times, I wanted to work out my ways instead of wait but finally He made all things beautiful and early this year, I got a job that I love and passionate about. I love what I do!

I have struggled too to wait upon the Lord for a mate but thank God for deliverance in that area.  Desperation is not a vocabulary in my head now. One inspirational lady wrote this.” Marriage is a calling and that devil knows that all too well!”

All he needs is a desperate heart and a thirsty mind. Awhile back, I read a book by John Piper on Momentary Marriage and he helps redefine the agenda of God through marriage. He says, we are called into marriage by God to become a wife or husband to someone for the purpose of revealing Gods glory and to showcase the big picture of Christ and His bride, the church; that is besides the lovemaking and procreation which by all means is a great experience to share with someone you love. 

Unfortunately, some have ended up settling by calling themselves into the institution. You see, I want to get married someday and its one of the things I look forward to. Sometimes I want to feel wanted and loved too. Sometimes you want to enjoy fellowship with a man and just share a new recipe you tried out on YouTube and turned so perfect on a Saturday afternoon. Sometimes too, you want to go and catch a film at IMAX and get someone sending a tiara of roses at your office on your birthday. It happens and the struggle is real!

But I have learnt from some who have gone ahead of me in this path that it helps to practice self-control. That it is wrong to get married by the incentive of sex. Ask any married couples and they will tell you,” There is a lot more to marriage that having sex”.

Out of the 24 hours of the day, you hardly get 2hrs time for “that” if your game is top notch. And yes, it is not an everyday thing. And it gets worse when children come; it’s never easy to juggle. So when the incentive to the motive of marriage is not met and you realize there’s more responsibility to marriage, it becomes frustrating simply because it wasn’t God’s ordained time. 

We need time and patience to be worked on before transition; otherwise, we will end up sending each other to hell on earth. Maturity is super important for the phase I am usually advised.

You see again, my mentor tells me that even in marriage, you don’t wake up feeling in love every day, some days, all that consumes you is the bills and children’s open day at school and you really don’t feel the tingly lovey dovey. However, if you wait and marry within Gods leading, you will understand that as a husband you have been called to love your wife as Christ loves the Church even when that morning you don’t feel like it. ²⁵ Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ loved the church and gave himself up for her ²⁶ to make her holy, cleansing^[b] her by the washing with water through the word, ²⁷ and to present her to himself as a radiant church, without stain or wrinkle or any other blemish, but holy and blameless. ²⁸ In this same way, husbands ought to love their wives as their own bodies. He who loves his wife loves himself.

As for the lady, you will remember that despite being a successful CEO in one of the top firms in the capital, you have been called to submit to your husband who is not rising up so fast like yourself in his career ladder. That after a hard day at work, as you hang your trench coat and throw away the heels and enter the house, you cease to be Madam Boss and become Mrs X. ²² Wives, submit yourselves to your own husbands as you do to the Lord.

Still profoundly sad is that some have also been called to marriage by the devil for the purpose of destroying destiny. A counterfeit who seems ideal in all ways but brought fourth for the purpose of destroying the predetermined destiny a brother or sister carries.

So, with all this load of lessons to draw from them that are ahead of me, I have learned to pray to God to be patient. To trust Him in His waiting room and just learn to wait. Telling my heart like the Psalmist in, Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. Someone says that we learn through mistakes but I would say in this case sometimes, wisdom is learning from they that have treaded that path before you so that you know which pathway to take.

I am learning every day that Biblical waiting on anything is not passive; just waiting for a moment or something to escape from the real trouble at hand but rather a deliberate choice that tells me

• ·         Waiting means that I am not in charge but God is
• ·         Waiting means I am trusting God
• ·         Waiting means that my motives are tested and purified

Do you think you need to practice the wait? In which situation do you need to learn on waiting on the Lord?

 Have a thoughtful Thursday, won’t you?