Let me take a wild guess here. You are waiting for something. Either a prayer to be answered, a need to be met, or an event to take place. Of course you are. Waiting is a part of life.
But why? God could intervene sooner than later if he wanted to. Why the delay?
Because particular blessings result from wait-time. You’ll find several of them itemized in a previous post: “The Blessings of Wait Time” (October 10, 2013). You can click on it below.
But recently I came across an addendum that grabbed my attention; perhaps you’ll find it noteworthy too.
First, you’re probably familiar with the instruction of Psalm 27:14 and other scriptures that tell us to wait on the Lord.
Centuries ago, in the old Prayer Book Version (which predated even the King James Version) that sentence was translated: “O tarry thou in the Lord’s leisure.”
Gives the verse a new layer of meaning, doesn’t it.
I’m thinking of an anxious child, waiting not-so-patiently for the moment aunts, uncles, and especially young cousins will arrive on a summer Saturday. How he looks forward to the table heaped with picnic fare, the games of tag and hide-and-seek, and perhaps Marco Polo in the pool.
“When will they get here?” he pines — again.
“All in good time,” Dad responds while preparing the grill.
Do you remember being that child? Your very insides were jumping around with pent-up excitement. Maybe your outsides were jumpy, too. Sitting still was an impossibility. You wanted the fun to begin NOW. Did you wonder, How can Dad be so calm?
We weren’t quite wise enough to recognize Dad’s vantage point of experience. He knew that highly anticipated events do eventually happen, and anxiety does not speed up the process. Dad could relax, enjoying the peace and quiet perhaps, before the whirlwind of relatives descended.
Is it possible that such a scenario describes (in part) the way our all-knowing, all-powerful Heavenly Father looks at our circumstances?
He knows exactly when each prayer will be answered, when each need will be met, when each anticipated event will occur.
So calmly and leisurely he waits until the time is just right.
Perhaps God is waiting until we’re ready to receive what he has planned. Might a little more spiritual maturity be in order?
Perhaps others are involved and he’s engineering circumstances to meet several purposes all at once. Joseph was released from prison at just the precise moment Egypt would need his God-inspired wisdom and leadership.
Perhaps our Father provides wait time to take our faith to the next level. He knows how contented we will be upon learning to rest and trust in quiet calm –with no jumpy impatience. How wonderful to affirm with calm conviction: “All in good time.”
Just like Dad said.
* * * * * * * * * *
Oh, Father, I don’t want to be like an immature, restless child who cannot be patient. Instead, may I “tarry in your leisure” –resting in your sovereignty and trusting in your timing — implicitly. I want to hope, anticipate, and endure as evidence of ever-growing faith. Bottom line: I want to please you. And, without faith, I know that is impossible (Hebrews 11:6).
(Photo credits: www.joyshope.com; http://www.betterparenting.com.)
From the Inside Out 
“He knows exactly when each prayer will be answered, when each need will be met, when each anticipated event will occur.” I love this perspective, Nancy! Once again, you have given the perfect imagery to a difficult reality. When next I am having to wait on the Lord for something, I shall remember this. It’s nice to think of my heavenly ‘Daddy’ patiently waiting for just the right time to answer. Blessings to you, and I hope you are settling in well with your move. 🙂
Yes, we are settling in, although there a still lots of details to take care of before our new house (new to us, that is) feels like a cozy home. But “all in good time,” right?! Thank you for stopping by, Rebeca, with your thoughtful comments.
Nancy, thank you for allowing us to enter your home and get to share in your thoughts. You are always encouraging. I like the pictures you place too, must take a lot of time finding just the right one.
Oh, that I will sit back and learn once and for all to “O tarry thou in the Lord’s leisure.”
Thank you for stopping by, Retha. I’m so glad you found the post encouraging. Yes, it does take a while to find just the right pictures, but the hunt is rather fun and I think it’s worth it. Photos and artwork often communicate what words cannot.
We can sit back together while we learn to tarry in the Lord’s leisure!
I laughed so hard at the picture of the little boy. It’s almost like you have a webcam set up in my office….Thanks for the thoughts. God is so good to us!
Isn’t he cute? And yes, we adults can feel just that frustrated, but there’s no cuteness about an adult indulging a full-out vent! Thank God He is with us, supporting us, and teaching us to tarry in His leisure. And thank YOU, Ruth, for stopping by with your comment!
Loving this post…especially the part where you admonished us to remember that “anxiety does not speed up the process”. How true. Anxiety can even delay the process as it slows down the our developing maturity in Christ. And I particularly found interesting the part about the old Prayer Book’s translation (predating the King James Version) of “O tarry thou in the Lord’s leisure.”
And I never thought about anxiety actually delaying whatever it is we’re waiting for! God may very well let us “stew” for awhile in our worry-pot, until we reach for the rim with faith and submission, ready to let him have his way (which we knew, even as we stewed, was going to be the best for us!!). Again, Cheri, you’ve added wise insight that makes me think! Thank you for that.