The Waiting Room

When most people hear the words "Please sit in the Waiting Room and wait for your name to be called", rarely is it associated with a feeling of comfort. For many and most, waiting means more time to worry. Whether at the Vet, the Doctor, or the Hospital, for those awaiting the test results of an uncertain future, the Waiting Room can feel like an emotional Death Row. Many would agree that the hardest part of life is the waiting period. We often find the unknown far more frightening than reality itself. Because fear begins in our mind, it's easy to see how the more time we have to think, the more fearful we become.

The Waiting Room theory can be true in our daily lives as well. As the journey becomes more difficult and the road ahead more foggy, we find ourselves in a state of waiting. We question anything and everyone around us, trying to get some idea of what we can expect in the days to come. The problem is, there's only One who knows our future and He's not telling.






Trust. For many of us, trusting God can be likened to walking blindfolded down a dark alley. We don't feel safe unless we can see each step with our own eyes and choose each path for ourselves. We have somehow been convinced that we can make better choices than the One who created us. Although His perspective is Eternal and ours is limited, we have bought the lie that if we want it done right, we must do it ourselves.







While life certainly has its dark alleys, we must not let fear blind us to the truth. As Christ said to His disciples in Mark 4:40: "Why are you so afraid? Do you still have no faith at all?"


What does it mean to have faith?


According to Hebrews 11:1 "Faith is being sure of what you hope for and certain of what you do not see."


So am I saying that faith means trusting God even we can't comprehend His reasoning?


Yes! "Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will make your paths straight." (Proverbs 3:5 & 6)







As President Roosevelt put it, "The only thing we have to fear is fear itself." How true it is!


So what is the opposite of fear and where can it be found?


The opposite of fear is love. "There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear. For fear has to do with punishment, and whoever fears has not been perfected in love." -1 John 4:18


How does love manifest itself and what are the characteristics of love?


"Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered, it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always perseveres. Love never fails." -1 Corinthians 13:4-8a


So where did love come from and what exactly IS love?


1 John 4:7 & 8 tells us: "Dear Friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love."







If God is love and the absence if love is fear, than the only thing truly worth fearing is the absence of God in our lives. For those who have received the gift of Salvation we have nothing to fear because we have accepted the Lord in our hearts... God and fear cannot occupy the same space. For those who do not believe, however, their fear is justified for they don't have the assurance of Salvation.







At this point you're probably wondering what Salvation has to do with the waiting period of life. Sure, it's great to have the Holy Spirit to guide us, but that doesn't make it easy to trust when the future seems so hazy. We need something tangible... a sort of promise that trusting the Lord, even when we don't understand Him, produces the best outcome. In these moments, when fear sets in and we wonder what on Earth we're doing, we must look to the Holy Word and rest on the promise of Jeremiah 29:11: " 'For I know the plans I have for you,' declares the Lord, 'plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.' "


Then what?


"Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me if you seek me with all your heart." (Jeremiah 29:12)







You see, friends, trials are an inevitable part of life. Since we have no choice but to sit in the Waiting Room in anticipation of the outcome, the greatest thing we can do is seek the Lord's will for us during these times. The choice is ours: Sit and wait in fear, or Seek the Lord and trust. Just remember that a question not quickly answered by the Lord may be used to build patience in us. Either way we look at it, we can be assured of this:


"Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and the door shall be opened unto you."

- Matthew 7:7