Waiting. Worrying. Whining.
SPOILER ALERT: This will not be my typical blog post. I recently heard one of the most well-delivered, thought-provoking, conviction-instilling messages I have ever heard preached. So here you will find my raw reflection of that sermon. If you want to listen to the full sermon, you can find that here.
Patience is a virtue… in which I think many of us could admit a lacking. Sure, I’m pretty patient with my kids. Patient with my husband. Sometimes kind of patient in traffic. Potentially patient in the grocery store line. I’m usually relatively patient. Until I’m not. Or until I know that something is coming or I should be expecting something. And then I am the most terrible, awful impatient waiter.
But life lately has forced me into inescapable waiting. And I could list all the ways that this waiting has made me uncomfortable, but the common thread that I have seen is that the waiting has led to worry.
Waiting and worry. They do seem to go hand in hand, don’t they? To go a step further, if I had to link one more to that—WHINING. Waiting, worrying, whining. It’s like a Jack Johnson song gone bad. I wait and I worry and I whine. God, why is this so hard? God, why is this taking so long? Don’t you see me? Why did I have to walk this way? God, when are you going to come through? Why can’t life be easy like it is for so and so [NOTE: So and So probably does NOT have it as easy as they make it appear either!].
You know what gets probably the least positive reaction out of me from my kids? WHINING. I am very seldom moved to action as a result of whining. At least not positive action. I recently found myself teaching this lesson around the dinner table: “Whining does not get the job done. Whining will not change the circumstances. Whining will not help anything. Do you know what a warrior is? Strong and brave. That’s right. They don’t whine. They are strong and brave and ready to face anything life throws at them. Now. Are you a whiner or a warrior? Warrior. Say it again. A whiner or a warrior? Warrior! One more time. A whiner or a warrior? WARRIOR!!”
And then like most good lessons I teach, I heard my wise words slicing the depths of my own mind as I realized that I am usually Chief… of the whiners. FAIL.
“Worry makes you a practical atheist. You are not God.” (Jeremy Yancey)
This was a poignant statement placed in the message I referred to earlier. And man, did it hit hard. I am not big enough to orchestrate the circumstances of my life. I am not wise enough to engage all the pieces of my tapestry to make the most beautiful painting. But He IS. And when I worry, I take my focus off the One who is capable and put it onto myself. And that’s when things look all a mess.
In one of the very last statements of the message, this verse was used. “For since the world began no one has seen or heard of such a God as ours, who works for those who wait for Him!” (Isaiah 64:4)
As I heard that verse, it resounded like a victory chant in my heart and head. He has no rival! No equal! And since the world began, no one has seen or heard of One so able to move on our behalf. And what’s better, He WILL work on our behalf… when we wait for Him! Ohhhh, how my heart grieves for the times I have not had God’s best because I simply was not willing to wait and allow Him to work for me.
But let that change today. May I not be a whiner. A waiter who worries and complains and cries with hopelessness. May I be a WARRIOR! Strong and brave in the face of the battle as I know the Lord rides with me and will carry my fight to completion for my good and His glory…
Are you a whiner or a warrior? Warrior. Say it again. A whiner or a warrior? Warrior! One more time. A whiner or a warrior? WARRIOR!!
