We are generally known as a society who seeks immediate gratification.  We don't like to wait.  We design and build many different tools and devices specifically so that we don't have to wait.  When something comes into our mind to do or to acquire then we are ready for it right then.  We use microwaves so that the time from a decision of hunger until first bite is as short as possible.  We have somehow equated waiting with waste.  It seems that anything we have to wait for is either not worth it or too easily replaced.  Waiting is considered unproductive.

There are a number of good things associated with waiting.  Waiting should be a very important part of healthy living.  There are times in life where waiting is exactly what needs to be done.  Waiting is a vital part of character building and it cultivates personal qualities of growth and maturity.  There are good things in life that are worth waiting for.  Waiting carries with it an idea of anticipation and hope for things yet to come.  Waiting is often the necessary process to avoid settling or accepting less than we should accept.

The price to keep from waiting can be very high.  Its one thing to microwave a pizza to keep from waiting for a fully cooked meal, but quite another to jump to the head of the line at the grocery to keep from waiting.  Shortcuts sometimes just get us somewhere early but often they allow us to get to a place that we are not prepared to be.  Young people hurry to adult desires and adult activities because they don't want to wait and yet they are in no way prepared to handle the resulting situations.  Families hurry to economic levels that just chew them up because they are not ready.  Couples want deep strong bonds between themselves without waiting for it and grow impatient with one another quickly.  A refusal to wait for good things is a characteristic of children but too many children are walking around in adult bodies.

Waiting involves not rushing or hurrying things before it is appropriate.  Waiting means not trying to skip over important steps in our proper maturity.  So when the Psalmist says that we should wait for the Lord, what ideas come to our minds?  Waiting for God means giving Him the authority over the timeline of our lives.  Sinful activity is almost always a shortcut to legitimate goodness.  God plans to bless our lives and give us joy and peace and contentment.  We don't get those things by dictating to God what we should be experiencing.  Waiting for God means releasing my personal requirements and impatience.  The reason I want something that is not yet available to me is because I have given it too much importance.  We should receive and enjoy what God has given us today instead of rushing to acquire what is not yet ours.

Waiting for God means trusting Him to deliver instead of filling the void with a substitute.  God says that He will give us heaven but we try to create heaven on earth instead.  The Bible teaches that God involves Himself in the timing and circumstance of our lives.  For those who will look for it God provides a way of escape from temptation.  He lifts up the fallen.  He gives wisdom to the foolish.  He gives hope to the hopeless and strength to the weak.  But He does all these things in His own due time.  He acts according to His own wise and loving heart.  As much as we might like to rush God there is no beneficial or effective way to do so. 

It takes courage to wait.  We sometimes foolishly decide that to rush into some endeavor or relationship is brave and exciting.  It takes more courage to pass on things that are desirable but are not right for us.  It takes real strength from God to say no to shortcuts.  We must say no to shortcuts toward our personal fullness.  We must walk away from shortcuts to good lives and loving relationships. 

We are not born into a room filled with toys for the acquiring.  We are ushered into time and space.  Time is a function of movement from one important part of our lives to the next.  In this existence in which we find ourselves we are scheduled for a series of appointments.  The Bible says that it is appointed unto man once to die.  This denotes that success in life means being prepared by the way we live our lives for the appointments God has for us.  This is not just about death but all the preceding phases and periods of one unique individual life.  We have many appointments that should not be rushed but should be effectively waited upon.  God has appointed for you a good life in His service.  He will bring more and more of what He wants for you into your life if you won't prevent it by filling your life with quick fix substitutes.

The last thing any of us want to do is be given something truly precious and wonderful before we are ready to handle it.  Instead of occupying useful time with gifts that we give ourselves we need to be preparing for the gifts of God.  Many people have rushed out to fulfil their physical desires only to crush what could have been a wonderful relationship.  Many have rushed to have children for their personal desires only to break the spirit of a precious child.  Many have rushed to acquire wealth and possession only to get there with no idea how to build a life out of it.

If you continue to live your life the way it should be lived God will see to the increase.  Invest yourself in service to God and others.  Do what needs to be done to bring about good things.  Pursue personal growth and maturity and wisdom.  Put your hand to the plow and let God be concerned with the harvest.  This is the kind of trust that pleases Him greatly.

This idea of grabbing all you can get as quickly as you can before you get too old to enjoy it is pure foolishness.  The maximum goodness you can enjoy is the goodness of one day.  Jesus prayed to God to give us our daily bread.  He was figuratively showing that the goodness and blessings of one day is all that we can receive and all that we can enjoy.  Due to this reality the concept of spreading goodness over the course of a lifetime makes a lot of sense.

Jesus died on a cross in the form of a man because He wanted so badly to give gifts to men.  Will you stop and wait long enough for Him to give those gifts to you?