Wait Time

When I worked in the restaurant business we would often have put customers on a waiting list for a table. It was a sign of healthy, consistent business when all our tables were full and people were still willing to wait to see when they could eat. One of the keys to keeping customers happy was to ensure that the actual wait time did not exceed the predicted wait time. In fact, we would often overestimate the delayed seating by a few minutes so that our guests would be pleased when a predicted 20 minute wait was only 15 minutes. Conversely, people would be very upset when a forecast of 20 minutes became 25 instead.

What's our reaction when it takes longer for something to happen in our lives than we anticipated? 

• The answer to our desperate prayer for healing isn't answered quickly enough. 
• God doesn't show us the next step He is asking us to take even though we keep asking what to do. 
• The mending of broken relationships seems to be moving at a crawl. 
• Trust that has been destroyed is being rebuilt in very small steps. 
• A solution to a problem either hasn't materialized or seems to be taking too long for our own preferences. 
• An area that needs growth isn't maturing as fast as we might have hoped.

There will always be a period of waiting and we won't always understand why. Our willingness to believe in God's deliverance and timing by reacting in patient maturity will reveal the depth of our trust.