Have you ever tried to get ketchup out of the bottle? I mean, the real bottle, not the plastic variety where you can squeeze it hard and it spurts out.
The glass-bottled ketchup was so impertinent, they made up a phrase, “The best things come to those who wait.”
I’ve waited for a lot of things in my life: I’ve waited for kids to be healed physically; I’ve waited to be fully accepted by friends; I’ve waited for breakthrough; I’ve waited for God to direct my paths; I’ve waited for things I dream of to come true; I’ve waited for God to change people; I’ve waited to be changed by God. For some of these, I still wait.
Scripture doesn’t shy back from addressing people in wait, those on month one of a ten-month delivery process.
Scripture tells “waiters”, like me:
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Is. 40:31)
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14)
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” (La. 3:25)
“But as for me, I will look to the Lord. I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.” (Mi. 7:7)
Waits don’t equate to: You’ve messed up so much that God is withholding from you. You haven’t prayed enough so you better work up some loud prayers that put sweat on your brow. You’re always going to be this way. You’re a loser.
Waits don’t absolutely mean you’ve been disobedient; they could mean that God has a better plan. And, that you’ve been faithful.
Sometimes, I figure if I’m waiting, it is my fault. That is not always the case.
Instead, in waits God has for me: more strength; “great” all up in that thing that feels like a horrible wait; rest so I can run in the future; a listening ear and His faithfulness as Savior.
Be encouraged, your wait doesn’t mean you are late; it means that the God who is great, has something even better in store for you. Taste and see that the Lord is good. The best things come to those who wait!
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