Wait

Just a preface...I did NOT write this poem. =]

"Wait"

Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried:
Quietly, patiently, lovingly God replied.
I plead and I wept for a clue to my fate,
And the Master so gently said,
“Child, you must wait.”

“Wait? You say, wait!” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is Your hand shortened? Or have You not heard?
By faith, I have asked, and am claiming Your Word.

My future and all to which I can relate
Hangs in the balance, and YOU tell me to WAIT?
I’m needing a “Yes”, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a “No” to which I can resign.

And Lord, You promised that if we believe
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord, I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
“I’m wearing of asking! I need a reply!”

Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate
As my Master replied once again, “You must wait.”
So, I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting…for what?”

He seemed, then, to kneel
And His eyes wept with mine,
And He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens, and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead, and cause mountains to run.

All you seek, I could give, and pleased you would be.
You would have what you want—
But, you wouldn’t know Me.
You’d not know the depth of My love for each saint;
You’d not know the power I give to the faint;

You’d not learn to see through the clouds of despair;
You’d not learn to trust just by knowing I’m there;
You’d not know the joy of resting in Me;
When darkness and silence were all you could see.

You’d never experience that fullness of love
As the peace of My Spirit descends like a dove;
You’d know that I give and I save, for a start,
But you’d not know the depth of the beat of My heart.

The glow of My comfort late into the night,
The faith that I give when you walk without sight,
The depth that’s beyond getting just what you asked
Of an infinite God, who makes what you have last.

You’d never know, should your pain quickly flee,
What is means that, “My grace is sufficient for thee.”
Yes, your dreams for your loved one
Overnight would come true,

But, Oh, the Loss! I I lost what I’m doing in you!

So, be silent, My child, and in time you will see
That the greatest of gifts is to get to know Me.
And though oft’ may My answers seem terribly late,
My most precious answer of all is still, “Wait.”

Although this poem is kind of corny in parts, I think it so accurately portrays the attitudes of many Christians. Whether we are waiting for God to reveal what job He would have us work at, who we are going to marry, where we will live, how we will make ends meet, what our next step in schooling will be, etc. we all have to trust in the Lord and wait on His timing and answers at some point in life. That is just part of life.

I love how the author of this poem makes the point that, yes, God could just give us what we ask for and what we want, but there are many times when He does not view this as being best for us. Most times, causing us to wait on Him and rely on His strength for endurance to wait is the greater way to sanctify and refine us. I am reminded of verses like Psalm 37:5 that talk about committing our way to the Lord and waiting for Him to act as we trust in Him. I am overwhelmed by the thought that God would seek our best by causing us to know Him better by resting in Him. We learn so much in resting in His strength and sufficiency.

Praise God for His continual work in us! Praise Him who “began a good work in [us for He] will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ”! (Philippians 1:6)