What To Do in the Waiting Room

I despise waiting! In fact, I don't think anybody would say that they like to wait. Whether it's waiting for a parking space, waiting to check out at the grocery store or waiting for God to answer prayer, the process is often painful and challenging. We live in a "hurry up" world, and we are accustomed to getting things fast, so the concept of waiting is typically not well received.

Sadly, waiting is inevitable, So the question is, what should we do while we wait? I don't know about you, but I don't like to feel like I'm wasting time standing in line or sitting in the doctor's office waiting for an appointment that was scheduled for thirty minutes ago. That being the case, if I am going to be waiting, I want to have something to do to occupy my time. Typically, my go-to activity for this is reading on the Kindle app on my phone. I have a wide variety of books on there, and it's simple to pull out my phone and while away the time while reading for entertainment or education. Either way, I feel like I'm accomplishing something instead of just sitting there. (It doesn't hurt that I love to read and would gladly sit for hours with a good book if I could.)

When it comes to waiting on God, on the other hand, I seem to have a different approach. Instead of occupying my time with tasks that I know the Lord would have me do, I find myself whining, complaining, fretting and even manipulating my circumstances to help things work out in my favor. Why do I do this? I know it isn't effective, and in the long run, it's exhausting. Wouldn't I do better to approach God's waiting room the same way I approach every other waiting room – intent on filling my time with something productive?

Now, I understand that there are times that God wants us to be still and wait, and during those times, we should do exactly that. But I believe that many times while we're waiting, God wants us to be working, doing the things we already know to do. He wants us to be productive in our work for the kingdom rather than sitting by and twiddling our thumbs waiting for His next move. The great part about this is that when we're busy working, we don't have time to worry or complain or manipulate our circumstances. Working while we wait helps us to leave things in God's hands and keeps us productive in the process.

Are you in the waiting room today? Are you wondering how to fill your time? If so, may I urge you to be busy about the Father's business? You know what He wants you to do. You know what you're supposed to be doing. So, while God is working, I suggest you work too unless He has told you to be still.  Waiting time doesn't have to be wasted time, and it often proves to be the most productive season of our lives if we use it in the proper way. There's no reason while we can't work in the waiting room, so let's get busy. Let God do His job, and let's be busy doing ours.

See then that ye walk circumspectly, not as fools, but as wise, Redeeming the time, because the days are evil. - Ephesians 5:15-16