When God's Not Moving Fast Enough

Many Sunday mornings I am rushing my family out the door. Because of our commitments at church, the four of us are out the door by 7:45am every Sunday morning. Dressed, hair fixed, clothes ironed, teeth brushed....and ready to serve the Lord with gladness. Ha....I wish that were the case all the time.

Instead it goes something like this....

"Get UP! Get dressed! No! You're not wearing that! Hurry Up! Have you brushed your teeth? Put your shoes on....Yes, you have to wear socks. Comb your hair. Did you brush your teeth? Eat something! Who left the toilet seat up???!!! Did you turn the curling iron off? Everybody have your Bible? No, you can't have beef jerky for breakfast. Get to the car. Hurry Up. Lock the Door. Did you turn the iron off? Did you lock the back door? Did everybody eat....????"

No one sees this day with the urgency that I feel about it every single week. I prepare....but still...no one moves quite fast enough for me. Everyone's just moseying around like they have all the time in the world. Everyone but me. I'm the one barking orders, stressing out, feeling anxious to get everyone out the door in time to recover from the hectic morning in the three minutes it takes us to drive into the church parking lot. Anybody with me??? Please tell me I am not alone!

The same thing's true with waiting on the Lord. I start out good. I plan...I plan to pray and read my Bible and I bookmark articles to read on waiting on God and I listen to all the latest and greatest Bible scholars talk about waiting on the Lord. And I stay focused and my patience stays intact. Until the Sunday Mornings of the waiting room. The days where there's more going on and I don't stay focused, and I don't pray and I don't plan for the anxiousness that is pounding in my heart....and then I start barking orders at God.

"I don't like this, God. I don't want to wait. I want this fixed now! Fix it God! Hurry Up! This doesn't feel good. I hate this! I don't want to pray....I don't want to read...I don't like your timing...I don't want to learn from the waiting. How could you care about me and leave me so lonely? Speed up Lord! Make something happen! I don't want to wait anymore. I'm tired. Worn out. Sad. Angry. Discouraged."

Every felt that way? I have. And I'm so thankful that God can handle my words...and my feelings. He understands our heartache.  And just like that three minute ride to church each week helps calm me down from a stress filled morning, after I have a moment to think about waiting on the Lord, my heart knows, that is really the only place I want to be. And I calm down, knowing He is in control. He's not lost track of time. He's not overdue. He's not left me lonely or forgotten.

These verses have comforted me in times that I've felt God wasn't working fast enough. May they encourage you also.

Psalm 27:13 – 14, NIV I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.

Psalm 37:7, NLT Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act. Don’t worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes.

Psalm 27:14, NLT Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.

Philippians 4:6-7, ESV do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Psalm 33:20-22, ESV Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name. Let your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in you.