To Wait or not to Wait

Yesterday in church my pastor said something that has stuck with me.   In talking about waiting on the Lord, he said "We wait with joyful expectation".  How can waiting be joyful?    What is joyful about the in-betweens in life where you don't know what is going to happen, or you have to hold out for those things your heart desires so deeply, with no logical reason?    I decided to dig a little deeper on the word waiting....because well....I am terrible at waiting.    I have always been a somewhat impulsive person.   Once I make up my mind, I want to makes things happen right then and there.   In some ways it has been a blessing in my life, I don't waste a lot of time, and tend to get things done promptly.   In other ways it can be a real struggle for me.    I am so thankful the Lord in His wisdom and grace knows us better then we know ourselves and gave me a husband who is the exact opposite of me when it comes to this area.   But the Lord has been nudging my heart recently to practice self control in learning how to be patient and wait on His timing.

Why is it so hard to wait?
I think one reason is that the enemy knows he can steal God's best from us by getting us to accept something we can have now.    Like having a snack because you were so hungry, but then being to full to eat the delicious meal that was waiting for you when you got home.
Waiting also takes work.   It takes discipline, and dedication.   I remember thinking back when I was in college for example..."man this is taking forever" yet when I look back now, years later, it seems like a blink of an eye.   But I was so ready to move on and begin my adult life that it seemed to just drag on.
Seasons grow tiresome.    Every time I go out it seems I hear someone say something like "man I am ready for summer" or "when is all this snow going to end", but then in the summer time all I hear is "I miss the cold" or "It's just so dry".    We seem to always want a different season then the season we are walking in.
As I get older, There are many areas of my life where I can not only see, but understand why the Lord called me to wait.   But unfortunately I all to easily forget those events when I am stuck yet again waiting.    Especially when it "seems" like I am the only one who has to wait on the things I desire so badly.
I am reminded of the Israelites.  Each time the Lord rescued them, or provided for a need, they would praise Him and then just as quickly turn their backs on Him again.    Over and over then would beg and plead, and then after receiving what they had begged for, forget who they were.   The inheritance they were promised.    40 years of wandering.   40 years of waiting.    The Lord did fulfill His promise to them, but how much quicker would it have come to pass if they had held onto the Lord steadfast, rather then wandering like lost sheep with mere moments of faith.  
Isaiah 40:31 says
But those who wait on the Lord
Shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.

the word Wait here, literally means "to bind together perhaps by twisting, to stretch".   When we wait on the Lord, we are letting our hearts bind together with His heart.   What happens to two pieces of rope when you twist them together.    they stretch, become stronger, and become one unit of rope instead of two separate units.       It doesn't mean waiting will be easy.   Or make sense at all times.   But we have the promise of renewed strength.

Lamentations 3:24-26 says
"The Lord is my portion" says my soul, "Therefore I have hope in Him." The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.   It is good that he waits silently for the salvation of the Lord.

Silently, in this case is telling us to wait without groaning or complaining.   boy is that something I need to work on.   But we have the promise that the Lord is good to those who wait on Him and He is our portion.   All we can ever need or hope for is found in Him, that is something that should give us great joyful expectation.

Maybe waiting isn't so bad after all...