Waiting invokes a feeling of not being in control. It causes us to feel powerless. What is waiting, it is that in between time. It is the intervals before you obtain the very thing you have been anticipating. Waiting, depending on the intervals between obtaining the thing anticipated. Waiting can be difficult, destressing and emotionally draining. Why must we wait. What value is there in waiting?

We are continuing our examination of the Life of Christ and others from the perspective of Living in a Crucible. 

Symbolically, a crucible is the fiery trials we experience as we grow and develop.

Crucibles are painful, they are uncomfortable, and they hurt, but they are beneficial in developing our character.

From the Sabbath School Adult Bible Study Guide 2022 Quarter 3: Sabbath.School

See also Hope Sabbath School and 3ABN Sabbath School

Inviting the Holy Spirit’s Presence

Heavenly Father, patiently waiting is not easy. It works on our minds and our emotions. Yet, you ask us to wait. Give us the patience we need to wait. In Jesus Name Amen.

Waiting is though, it can be exhausting. Waiting is even worst when we are in the crucible.

Yet in Romans 5:6 and Galatians 4:4 we see that waiting is a time of growth. It ensures complete and full development. Thus, there must be an in between time.

Romans 5:6 says:

6 For when we were still without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. (Romans 5:6)

And Galatians 4:4 says

4 But when the fullness of the time had come, God sent forth His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, (Galatians 4:4)

What is Paul saying in Romans 5:6 and Galatians 4:4. He is telling us that Jesus came to die for us humans at just the right time. No sooner, no later. He was right on Time.

But, what’s interesting is that Paul does not tell us why it was the right time. That’s the thing, in most cases, we do not know what is going on behind the scenes that indicates it’s the right time.

With that in mind, it is easy to look at Romans 5:6 and Galatians 4:4 and wonder, what made it the right time? “Why did Jesus wait for thousands of years to come to this world to battle against sin? Didn’t God and all the universe see that sin was a terrible thing long before Jesus came to this earth?”

This could lead to another question, especially since we do not know what is going on behind the scenes.

We may also ask why Jesus is waiting so long to return. Then a third question may be lurking in the back of our minds.  “Why does God wait so long to answer my prayers?”

If you think God takes long to answer your prayers. How do you think Daniel felt when God gave him the 70-week prophesy in Daniel 9:24-27.

This is special time prophesy or message given to Daniel that points to the time when Jesus the Messiah would come. How long were the 70 weeks in real time? It was 490 years. Daniel and his people were given a long waiting time. What does this say about waiting in God’s time? It certainly lets us know that God does things not in our timing but in his timing. And even if the time seems long, it is the right time.

Here is the big question: Why must we wait?

There are many important reasons why we must wait. Here are six spiritual reasons for waiting:

(1) Waiting can help us remove our attention from “things, possession, power position” and put it back on God Himself.

(2) Waiting allows us to understand better what is in our hearts.  It gives us time to examine ourselves and obtain a better picture of our motives and intentions.

(3) Waiting teaches us to be patient by helping us develop perseverance and spiritual strength

(4) Waiting helps us to grow stronger in faith.

(5) Waiting gives God time to do other things for us. It allows God to work out the other pieces of the puzzle that forms the bigger picture.

Finally (6) We may never know the reason we must wait. Therefore, we must learn to live by faith.

The Book Our High Calling offers some thoughts on what conditions are like while waiting and what we can do in the meantime. It says:

We need not expect all sunshine in this world. Clouds and storms will cluster about us, and we must be prepared to keep our eyes directed where we saw the light last. Its rays may be hidden but they still live, still shine beyond the cloud. It is our work to wait, to watch, to pray, and to believe. We shall prize the light of the sun more highly after the clouds disappear. We shall see the salvation of God if we trust in God in the darkness as well as in the light.

All trials, all afflictions, all peace, all safety, health, hope, life, and success are in God’s hands, and He can control them all for the good of His children. It is our privilege to pray, to ask anything and everything of God, submitting our request in submission to His wise purposes and infinite will.—Our High Calling, p. 318.

There are many other examples in the Bible of God doing things in his time.  These examples help us learn to trust that God will do things for us when the time is right. Review the story of Abraham and Sarah and the promise of a son found in Genesis. As you review the time of waiting for Abraham and Sarah, look particularly at what they did while waiting. What are you doing while waiting. Are you patiently are impatiently waiting?

Different from Abraham and Sarah, David waited patiently. He had the opportunity to jump to the head of the line and decrease the time of his waiting, yet he chose not to do so. Why did he choose not to jump to the head of the line.

Find out in Day 4: An Example of Waiting