Wasted Waiting

Have you ever been told that a watched pot doesn’t boil? Chances are the person speaking was trying to help with some impatience on your part but is it true that if you just stand in the kitchen waiting it won’t ever come to the boil? Of course not! We know a watched pot WILL boil at the exact moment it’s meant to boil but it will seem so much longer if you just stand there staring at it. Life works very much the same way. We all have things we are watching and waiting for but if we dig our heels in and put our lives on hold until we get our desires the time will seem to drag on forever. The Lord tells us to wait expectantly (Psalm 5:3) but He doesn’t tell us to just stop participating in life.

We all go through moments that seem like we’re in limbo. We aren’t at the beginning but the end doesn’t seem anywhere in sight so it can seem best to just sit and wait. I know that personally, I often sit and wait out of frustration, confusion or anger but you can’t let yourself get stuck there. Get busy with your life while you wait for the next big moment. Who knows but the next big moment might come about because you are busy doing something else. Think of Rebekah in Chapter 24 of Genesis and how being busy with life put her in the right place at the right time.

I know during this pandemic season, it has been easy to say “I’ll just wait until things get back to normal” because this time has felt so disjointed and uncertain. We feel frustrated that our plans seem to be put on hold or our desires can’t currently be met to the standard we would like but that doesn’t mean we should let everything go to pot. Don’t let this time of unknown or waiting start a rut for you. Put the shovel down and find something productive to fill your time.

Maybe the Lord is using this time to get your attention because you’ve been focusing on or waiting for the wrong things or maybe He knows you need this time to prepare for your next season. Whatever the case, don’t waste the waiting because it’s not where you want to be at that moment. Just like with that boiling pot, you’re going to wait regardless but you get to choose the productivity of your wait. Did you take out the trash, fold the laundry and return to find the pot ready for you? Or did you stand there staring in frustration, counting the seconds? If that’s the case, you still have laundry and trash waiting for you when you’re done. That’s wasted waiting!

If you feel like you are stuck in a rut, ask the Lord to direct you to your current purpose and be open to what that might mean for this season. If you had asked me a year ago to stand in the hot, humid Mississippi heat every Sunday morning sweating like a pig, I would have probably said “No, thank you” but that’s exactly where they Lord led me during this crazy time for our church and you know, I’ve grown to love it! Am I still waiting for something? Yes! Was this part of my plan? Definitely not but I can see how the Lord is using this season to make my next season successful and for that I am truly grateful.

Thank you, Father, for making me wait in seasons I’m not prepared and for lovingly protecting me from my impatience. Please guide my heart to see what you have for me during this time and help me approach it with a good heart attitude and an eternal perspective. Amen.