Waiting Serves a Purpose

It's the envelope most Americans dread to pull out of the mailbox...Jury Duty summons (cue dramatic dun dun duh!). A few months ago, I was the lucky winner of an all expenses paid trip to the county courthouse!  (cue sarcastic applause).

So bright and early on the designated Monday morning, I and more than one hundred of my closest acquaintances gathered in the Jury Assembly Room at the local courthouse. As I sat there, waiting for the process to get started I flipped through the booklet they give you when you walk in. Among the pages with info about the judges, the court process, and what's expected of potential jury members, was a phrase that struck a chord:

"Waiting serves a purpose."

The phrase was to remind you that even though it seems like you're just sitting around for no reason, there's a lot of things going on behind the scenes. Cases are being settled, new evidence is coming to light, accused criminals are confessing to crimes, and ultimately victims are getting justice; all while the potential jurors sit, scrolling through Facebook, waiting to be called upon. 

In fact, on the last day of my most recent stretch as a potential juror, the judge came into the assembly room and told us our mere presence prompted confessions from two criminals. He said though both had been insisting on a jury trial, when they arrived at the courthouse and were told an actual jury pool was present and ready to be selected, they both changed their minds and confessed to the crimes they had been charged with. Which, as the judge said, expedited the justice process and saved two families the pain of reliving the crimes against their loved ones through evidence and testimony in a courtroom. 

So even though we, the assembled, had been twiddling our thumbs for the better part of two hours, justice for two families was being worked out. Our waiting, as it turns out, did indeed serve a purpose. 

Since then, that phrase has stuck with me, 'Waiting serves a purpose'. So often I think about in my own life. Sometimes it feels like I get stuck in seemingly endless cycles of waiting. Waiting for news about a job, waiting for news about a loved one, waiting for my future husband, waiting for traffic to clear...waiting, waiting, WAITING! And a lot of the time it doesn't feel like there's a point. Why do I have to wait? Why has God put me in this place of seemingly endless waiting? Everyone else seems to be getting everything I want; when will it be my turn? Over and over the questions swirl around. In the middle of the chaos though, I hear a small voice that says:

"Daughter, your waiting serves a purpose."

During these seasons of waiting, I'm growing, learning, tuning my heart to hear my King's voice above all others. In these seasons of waiting, God is actively shaping me to fulfill the purpose and plan He has for my life. He will never make me wait without a reason. 

Just like in the juror room where I couldn't see what was going on behind the scenes, I can't see all of what God is doing through my season of waiting. Even when I feel like I'm at a standstill, God never stops working. He's constantly weaving His plan through my life.

Final thoughts: when it seems like your life has become a broken record, playing the same mirthless tune over and over again, don’t despair! God is still working in your time of waiting. Instead of moaning about having to wait, ask God what He’s trying to teach you in this moment. He never wastes anything, He’s given you this season of waiting on purpose.

Our attitudes determine how we wait. How are you thinking about this season of waiting? God is pouring into your life, shaping you into the person you need to be, can you see it? I must admit, a lot of the time I focus more on complaining to God about having to wait, than actually seeing what He’s trying to teach me.

If you’re in a season of waiting, whatever it may be for, I challenge you to take some time and ask God what He’s trying to teach you. However, when you ask, don’t ask like a child throwing a tantrum, demanding their way; ask from a place of humility and gentleness. 

Wait with hope, expecting God to fulfill His promises; knowing your waiting serves a purpose.

“But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.”

‭‭Micah‬ ‭7:7‬ ‭NIV‬‬

https://www.bible.com/111/mic.7.7.niv

““Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don’t get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes.”

‭‭Matthew‬ ‭6:34‬ ‭MSG‬‬

https://www.bible.com/97/mat.6.34.msg