What is it with man that he doesn’t like to sit still and wait?  What’s so great with doing all the time that we can’t be still?  There’s a certain solemnity in waiting.  If you give it a chance, waiting does not just still the body but also the soul.  It is a very effective teacher of patience, humility, and faith.

Why Patience?

There are people who gets irritated with long lines.  Well, nobody wants waiting in long lines.  But if we will look at life’s ordinary situations, we are all subjected to long lines all the time.  Unless you are a VIP ( Very Important Person), you wait in line over a cup of coffee; for your food to be served, on the mall and grocery cashier; bills payment; taxi stands; road traffic; doctor’s appointment; spa treatment, and so on. With all those waiting we experienced, there is just one simple thing that it teaches us – Patience. 

If you still fret and complain about it, then you haven’t learned the virtue.

There are several ways to tame your impatient nature while you wait:

1. Read – Clinics are filled with magazines to pass time. If you don’t like clinics’ outdated magazines, always carry a book with you.  It’s amazing how waiting in line can let you finish a book in one sitting.
2. Write – If you are the type of person who loves to write, then waiting in line is the best time to do it.  It’s the perfect time to write those great ideas that comes to mind all the time but you never get to write, because your days are always filled with activities.  If you’re the type who wants to observe other people, you can even write about your observations with those who are waiting with you.  I find this activity fun because I get to notice the different personality types and how they pass time.
3. Plan – Activity does not equal productivity.  If you need some planning to do in any area of your job, or a family vacation maybe, you can do it while waiting.  This is best done with a paper and pen, or one of those gizmos (ipad, ipod, or tablet) with scheduler/planner apps that will help you organize your next day, your week, your month, or the rest of the year.
4. Think – the best time to think and re-think your life.  How far are you from your goals?  What have you accomplished so far?  What are you going to do about it?  What changes are you going to make?  Which people are you going to look for and avoid to pursue your dreams?  Just let your mind free from the thought of waiting, and let it embrace your day dreaming.  Great ideas comes from free thinking.
5. Pray – Waiting with others or waiting alone make no difference (with the exception of carrying a restless child).  Waiting gives us an opportunity to commune with God.  Silently, in our seat or standing in line, we can talk to our Creator who cares for our present predicament, who sees our concerns, and feels our anxieties because He is the Lord of all.

Why Humility?

We acknowledged that no matter how important our time is, there are other people who will subject us to waiting.  There are other people who are ahead of us and we can’t trample on their right to be there first. There are also individuals who will keep us waiting just so they could tell us that they are the boss.  You hate those people but the fact that we need them keep us humble enough to wait.

Why Faith?

The Lord is never late, He is always on time.  Our timeline is not the same with His.

What does the Bible tells about waiting?

• Lamentations 3:25  The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.
• Psalm 27:14  Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!
• Psalm 39:7  “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
• Habakkuk 2:3  For still the vision awaits its appointed time; it hastens to the end—it will not lie. If it seems slow, wait for it; it will surely come; it will not delay.
• Micah 7:7  But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.
• Psalm 37:7  Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
• Isaiah 40:31  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.
• Psalm 62:5  For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.

So the next time you are in a situation where you have to wait, then wait in silence patiently, with faith and humility.