“Patience, my dear.” I say to my son as I juggle over a dozen items in my hands that I’ve just pulled from the refrigerator. It’s lunch time, and both of the boys are asking for something to eat. My 2-year old is like a skipping record asking the same question over and over again. I finally turn to him and say, “please just trust that Mommy is going to take care of you.”
Lord, you always hold the mirror before me in these moments. And, in an instant I see myself before the King of kings asking my requests repeatedly and in desperation. Father God, turns to me and says, “please just trust that I am taking care of you.”
Philippians 4:6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” This verse doesn’t say ”continue to be anxious and constantly remind God of your requests.” No. Instead it says to make my requests with thanksgiving. I think God’s a fan of having good manners. He doesn’t want whiny and worrisome children. No, He wants obedient and polite listeners. He wants children that tell Him what they want with “please” and “thank you.” Then, as He prepares and He answers our needs and our requests, He wants us to be patient and full of trust.
Sometimes my children grow impatient while I’m getting them a snack or making them lunch, and they’ll help themselves to something that easily accessible in the pantry or refrigerator. And, I can tell you this, it’s almost 100% of the time whatever they get is not as good as what I was planning to make them (or in the process of making them). They settle. When they think that mom’s not moving fast enough, they take matters into their own hands and they settle for whatever they can quickly get their hands on.
I know I’ve done this to God before, too. I’ve wanted something so badly that I’ve tried to work outside of God’s timeline. I’ve begged and begged for something that I’ve wanted so badly, and in the end I settled for what I thought was best rather than waiting to see if God was faithful to follow through on my request. But, you see, God doesn’t work on my timeline.
“...With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you...” (2 Peter 3:8, 9)
God could be answering my request, and it could take a moment, or it could take days, weeks, months, or even years. But, if I get impatient, I could really miss out of what He has planned for me.
Jeremiah 29:11 says, “‘For I know the plans I have for you,’ declares the LORD, ‘plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’” The verse says He knows the plans. It doesn’t say He’s taking forever to answer my prayers because He needs more time to figure it out. That’s not the case at all. The truth is that He’a always known. He knew what was best, and He knew what He was preparing for me before I even knew what I wanted to ask Him for. (Matthew 6:8) He knew all along. And, He still knows.
My job is pretty easy, but for some reason I make it a lot harder than it’s supposed to be. All I have to do is continue to trust Him and obey Him while I wait with patience and thanksgiving. That’s it. That’s all I have to do—just keep praising Him and bringing Him glory. The rest, oh well, you see He’s got it completely under control. So, I don’t need to worry about a single thing.
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