In the Meantime...What to Do While Waiting

Let's face it; none of us likes to wait. In this day of microwaves, high-speed internet, and jumbo jets, we want everything we need, ask for, or desire in an instant. Delayed gratification? What's that? An ancient term to some.

But life remains full of waiting: long lines at WalMart (can't they open another lane?), hours in the doctor's waiting room (why did I need to schedule an appointment, then?), adoption approvals, healing, employment in the midst of unemployment, financial breakthrough, spiritual breakthrough. You name it, someone is probably waiting on it.

Why? Because God has His own timing, and it's perfect. We chew our fingernails and pull out our hair, panicking in our boats of life because Jesus seems to be sleeping on it. Yet, His word says to wait and have faith.

"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!"

~ Psalm 27:14

So, what does one do while waiting on the Lord? If you're like me, you have a difficult time sitting still. My brain runs at 100 miles-per-minute. Waiting in one place is awkward and uncomfortable. I must have something to do in the meantime.

5 Things to Do While Waiting

Pray. Read. These would seem obvious to some. However, when we get busy with life, we tend to forget the simple things. By praying, we can hear direction from the Lord. We may be waiting for one thing, while God's trying to move us toward another. Reading His Word can also give us that direction.

Study. Be an intern or learn from a mentor. There are things I want in life that I would have no clue in and of myself how to gain them or maintain them. The only way I can ever see these dreams come to pass is if I study how to do so. While I wait for God's perfect timing, I can be reading, learning, and putting myself into a position for the dream to become a reality.

Practice. Violinists don't become prodigies overnight. Writers don't write best-sellers the first time they put a pen to paper. It takes practice to become what God is calling you to be. While you wait to paint the historical masterpiece, pick up the watercolors and the brush. Have some fun and become good at what you do, in the meantime.

Pay attention to the game. Football players don't sit back and relax on the bench during a game. They have to keep their head in it, focusing on what's happening on the field, what their teammates are doing. Why? Because they never know when the coach is going to call them into the game. In order for the team to be successful enough to win it, they have to know what's going on and be ready to jump in, picking up where their teammate left off.

Live in the moment. Don't regret the mistakes of the past. They make us who we are today. Those experiences taught us what works and what doesn't. Don't jump ahead to the future, either. Keep your eye on the horizon and what's to come. But, don't miss what God has in store for you today because you want tomorrow to arrive already. There are things in today that you and I need in order for tomorrow to come as God intended it to. Look for them. Cherish them. In doing so, you'll be living life in abundance.