In a world that’s filled with instant mashed potatoes, instant rice, instant news, instant results and instant madness its hard to wait. In the famous infomercials where they tell you, “But wait, there’s more,” it’s usually followed by a buy one, get one free offer, or more. We’re assured that they are assured that we will like the product so much that we will be willing to wait for it. So much so, that we will wait for two or more of said product.

I’m not considered a very patient person. As years progress, I find myself not wanting to wait for anything anymore. I don’t have that much time left after all. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. We’re all going to die someday and I’ll probably live another twenty years (heaven help us) or more. I know I could get hit by a car today and maybe go straight to heaven, but I’ve waited for 79 years for that blessing and I’m glad I’m still looking forward to it. When we are forced to wait, the waiting seems almost unbearable. We don’t like timelines, especially when it interferes with the plans we’ve already made and sealed in blood. The interrupted trips, because of the infernal virus, come to mind. Kids can’t wait for summer vacation – going back to school – getting out of school again – waiting for a home cooked meal – waiting for the cookies in the oven – waiting for report cards to come out. We all have an agenda when it comes to waiting.

Lately we’ve been asked to do a lot of waiting. Maybe that’s a good thing. When we have a lot of time to consider the repercussions or blessings that might ensue, it makes the decisions easier to make. When we wait for a test result – a “yes” to a proposal of marriage – an acceptance of an offer on a house – time seems a little more imperative. The answer will often dictate our future.

God wants us to wait for Jesus’ second coming. We have no idea when that will occur. Even Jesus’ human side can’t answer that question. But all the signs around us are pointing to the end of the world as we know it. Why can’t it just be over with so we can experience paradise right now?

Winnie the Pooh was a wise little bear. He once said,

“Sometimes, if you stand on the bottom rail of a bridge and lean over to watch the river slipping slowly away beneath you, you will suddenly know everything there is to be known.” He also said, “Rivers know this: there is no hurry. We shall get there some day.”

There is a reason for all things under the sun. God is the only One who knows what the reason is. Yet in His infinite knowledge He allows us to be refined through the process and gives us the truth that ultimately we all win in the end. We can be assured of that. But wait! Nope, that’s all there is to it.