So we are all waiting for something. I don’t know what your wait is about but I know that it is probably significant. It may be the next stage of life that you really can’t wait to get here. It may be finding that right person or job. It may be restoring a relationship or friendship. It may be a promise that God gave you and you don’t know how it is going to happen. I want to talk about that for a bit. I realize that the feeling of waiting is a terrible one. I usually feel really helpless. Waiting on time to go by and having the patience to let things develop is not one of my strong suits. Its OK to feel that way. It happens to all of us.
The point is that if you feel that way, if you are getting antsy about your wait, you need to redirect your focus. You can’t make the wait about the wait. That just flat out makes it worse. It’s like looking at the second hand when you are waiting for someone to show up to an appointment. No matter how hard you stare at the second hand they aren’t going to get there any earlier.
So what are you to focus on? I don’t know a good answer to that. I know what works for me, but you are probably a very different person than I am. The trick is to not numb out, but to keep your mind busy and off your wait. You still want to pray about it and bring it to God, but you need to leave it there and not obsess about it. That obsession will in the long run ruin your joy and your quality of life. It may even damage your chances of attaining success in your wait if you become Jaded while you wait. My suggestion if you are struggling in what to do to keep your mind off your wait would be to find something very positive to be a part of. Mentor someone. Tutor some refugee children. Serve at the soup kitchen. Be a volunteer at the your group. Join the Invisible Children, go on a mission trip. Giving your life away to others selflessly will keep your mind off yourself and open you up to new reservoirs of energy.
I am so excited to see what a world would be like that trusted God and then found practical ways to serve God and others while they waited on God’s plan for their life. An outward positive focus defeats waiting and despair every time. You see in Jesus’ life a perfect example. He even said himself, “the son of man did not come to be served but to serve and to seek and save that was lost.” You and I join him in that mission every time we serve others.