God's Waiting Room

But as for me, I watch in hope for the LORD,

I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.

-- Micah 7:7

The Information Age has launched countless time-saving innovations that have greatly simplified our lives. For example, we can book our flight and hotel reservations on a website rather than visiting a travel agency or waiting on hold for a customer service representative. And instead of queuing up at the bank to deposit our paycheck, a tap or two of our smartphone completes the task in mere seconds.

That said, waiting is still an inescapable reality for most of us. We’ll spend an average of two years of our life in lines. Obtaining a driver’s license can mean or morning (or more) at the DMV.

And if you’re a Green Bay Packers football fan in search of season tickets, you’ll have to wait in a 30-year-long line of 130,000 applicants. The Packers website reveals that season tickets to Lambeau Field — the team’s stadium — have been sold out since 1960.

Few people like to wait, and multi-tasking to make the most of down-time has become a valued life skill. But waiting isn't always a frustrating waste. In fact, it’s actually an essential part of God's plan for our lives — that inexplicable process that enables us to become. This concept might be difficult to grasp because the human viewpoint of time differs greatly from his. The Apostle Peter puts it into perspective this way: "But do not forget this one thing, dear friends," he wrote. "To the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years is as one day."

As Christ-followers, we must understand that what happens while we're waiting is often more important than what we're waiting for. Just ask anyone who has spent grueling hours at the hospital contemplating the health and future of a loved one. Did their soul-searching experience bring a closer dependence on God? It should have. After all, it's when we're so humbled and powerless that we realize we can do nothing on our own.

We might live in the fast-paced Information Age, but the world still revolves around waiting. With this in mind, let's make the most of our time in God's Waiting Room — a place where we can look for ways and opportunities to say yes to our Creator with a sense of expectancy and hope.

"Be still, and know that I am God," he tells us through Psalm 46:10. "I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth."