The Failure to Wait

Question to think about: Are you willing to wait?

In the Western world we spend a lot of time waiting. We wait in traffic, in grocery store lines, and in drive-thru lines, while commercials interrupt programs we are watching, for medical tests to be completed, and for our pay check to arrive. We even wait in "waiting rooms" at a doctor's office. The thing is . . . waiting is a challenge for must of us . . . we want to be action takers.

Waiting gives us time to think . . . to strategize . . . to make wise decisions . . . in the presence of God. Waiting on God is the process of trust.

The story of failing to wait is part of our story:
The disciples, those who followed Christ, God with us, participated in the miracle of feeding thousands of people with a small amount of food.
They knew that that thousands of people were hungry.
They realized that there was only five loaves of bread and two fish available.
They watched Jesus bless the little bit of food.
They served the food to the people.
They saw all the people eat.
They collected left-overs.
They must have been over-the-top-excited to see the miracle of "more than enough."
Then it was over.
Jesus withdrew.
The crowd went home.
The day was done:
Now when evening came, His disciples went down to the sea, got into the boat, and went over the sea toward Capernaum. And it was already dark, and Jesus had not come to them. Then the sea arose because a great wind was blowing. (John 6:16-18, Amplified)
The energy and vitality of the day seemed to have disappeared. The skies darkened as night replaced day. Apparently, the disciples did what they knew to do. They got into the boat and went over the sea without Jesus. John does not say why they left without Jesus. But they did. Then a storm came.
The disciples had participated with the work of Jesus, experiencing a power that could not be adequately described. Even so, they missed the point . . . and did not wait for Jesus. They went about their business, doing what they knew to do . . . without Jesus.

How often do we get impatient, fail to wait, and go about our business?
How often do we try to figure out what we need to do without the presence, power, and wisdom of God?

Stop.
Wait before you begin the business of your day.
Seek to be in the energetic strength and power of God.
Experience the power of waiting.

Learning with you to wait,
Shalom,
Kerrie
(All devotions written by Kerrie Palmer ©2009 All Rights Reserved)