How to Wait
Read Time: 7 mins
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
Psalms 130:5-6 NIV
The Houston airport was receiving an overwhelming amount of complaints regarding the time it took passengers to get luggage after arriving at a specific gate. They hired more people to try to make the unloading process quicker and still received an overwhelming amount of complaints. They kept questioning why this gate would get so many complaints and started to study the situation. They conducted an analysis and recognized that it took one minute for passengers to walk from their plane to baggage claim, and then another seven minutes for the passengers to wait at baggage claim until they got their bags. The gate that received the complaints was the closest one to baggage claim with the shortest walk, but the longest standing wait. So they decided to switch the gate that the plane would arrive at. Instead of having the plane arrive at a gate that was one minute away from the passenger's destination, the airport had the plane arrive at the farthest possible gate from the baggage claim area. This new trip would create a six-minute walk to baggage claim and then a stagnant wait of only two minutes once they arrived at baggage claim. The total time would stay the same, the only difference was what you’d be doing while waiting. After this change, the Houston airport never got any more complaints about wait time.
You would think that passengers would want the shortest possible trip from the gate to baggage claim, but research shows that as humans, we desire to walk while we wait. We want to move while we wait. We aren’t designed to just stand and be stagnant. We are designed for activity.. Standing around made the wait unbearable, but action made the wait worth it. Waits are a part of life, but how we approach them can greatly change our experience.
God has called you to do amazing things. He has anointed you for His purpose and set you aside for something specific. I believe that and you do too. But that recognition of calling sometimes makes the wait even harder. I intimately understand the antsy, claustrophobic, and suffocating feeling of being held back from what you know God wants you to do. Knowing you are called to greatness makes mediocrity feel like cancer. Having a clear picture of the vision God has for your life sounds great until all you see around you is dysfunction. You may be like Joseph. It's been over a decade since God gave you the dream but you're still in prison. Waiting is hard. You may be getting weak. You may be losing hope. You may be losing the sense of passion and joy you once had and wondering if anyone cares. I understand, and I want to share with you what God is sharing with me.
The wait hurts more when you stop working. I want you to recognize something. God never calls lazy people. Elisha was called while plowing a field. The disciples were called while in their boats fishing. David was anointed as king while shepherding. Moses had a similar story. God called each of these people to greatness but they weren't just standing still while waiting on their big break. God elevates focused people. He elevates workers. This is a call to those who are tired. It may seem counterintuitive but the way to escape the weight you feel is to work.
I want you to act like what you dream of. What does this look like for you? Coaches always used to tell me to practice at game speed. That simply means to practice at the same intensity and passion you expect to play the game at. A guy who was planning on enrolling at Oakwood University as a theology major asked me for advice, and I gave him some encouragement based on my personal failures and triumphs. I told him that he needs to be intentional now. Hold yourself to the standard necessary for who you feel called to be. I’m not saying to be fake or put on a show. Never do that. Be as genuine as possible. But if this is truly a call on your life, don’t treat it like a job. Lifestyles don’t wait for paychecks. Theo majors have a unique opportunity that many don't take advantage of. I told him that Biology students can't do surgeries, engineering majors can’t really build much, but you can start a church. I told him to pastor the campus before he gets paid to do it.
Something that I think made the experience of my friends and I so fun was that we weren't waiting until we got paid to start doing our job. Sophomore year, Closer was just us getting food and sneaking into the nursing building, or Mosley without permission, and God allowing 60 people to show up for bible study. (sometimes you have to ask for forgiveness instead of permission.) Without Walls was just Dori DMing friends and planning a service outside during COVID. Redemption was Que starting a revival on Zoom and just continuing it after the week he planned for was over. Redemption ended up lasting for like two years and birthed ROAR, had two out-of-state pop-up services, baptisms in both home pools, and the Oakwood natatorium. My devotional ministry was birthed from my sending Google Doc notes to friends when something touched me in my personal time with God. Nothing started off crazy. But these acts of stewarding the spheres we were in are some of the things that actually led to career opportunities later. Don't wait to get called to a big church with thriving ministries, just start being a good pastor now.
This isn't just for people who want to do that type of ministry. Natrickie, Aaron, and I were writing and recording songs in the back of my 2001 Toyota Camry with a $100 interface, SM58, and a MIDI keyboard. Now both of them have projects out (maybe I’m next, who knows lol). Austun was grinding with an iPhone before working with DeVon Franklin or on the sets of Bel-Air. I have friends working in the White House, excelling through medical school or law school. I have friends with clothing lines and thriving businesses. I can only imagine where they will be in the next 10 years. I don’t believe that their success is accidental. I believe that what they’re walking in now is the result of them stewarding what they had then. It may not have been much, but they worked it as if it was for a king. Whatever their hand found to do, they did it with all their might. While their dreams placed their minds in the future, their work ethic wasn’t absent in the present. They were intentional about working while they waited.
This principle can come it play in every aspect of your life. You know I love to discuss relationships. I hate when people assume saying “I do” will change anything. If you aren’t intentional about boundaries and integrity in singleness, do you think loyalty and trust will just magically appear in dating and marriage? You feel called to it but how many hours have you put it? How many books have you read about it? How many podcasts have you listened to? How many sacrifices have you made? You want to be a present father later but you’re too good to talk to the kids at church who are inspired by you now? You want to have money later but you cant steward what you have now? Putting in the work now will ease your wait.
Not only does work ease your wait, but true stewardship prepares you for your promotion. You can't be trusted to lead the Israelites publicly if you can't be trusted to love sheep privately. The pasture prepares you for the palace, but I want to be clear in saying this because I don't want you to see service as a means to an end. Service isn't to be viewed as a ticket to more. I believe the people God trusts with promotion are those who would be content with service in their current sphere even if God never elevated them because of it.
Joseph wasn't serving in Potiphar’s house or serving in the prison because he thought it was his ticket out. He didn't even know that was a possibility. He was serving with his all just because God called him to serve, period. David didn't know Samuel was coming with anointing oil that day, but he served with his all. David risked his life to protect sheep that weren't even his. While God used the experience to aid in his battle with Goliath, in David's head, the point of the fights with lions, tigers, and bears was not to prepare him for Goliath. He did his all in the pasture simply because it was the right thing to do. Not because it would lead to the palace.
Preparation is important. Preparation is a call we all have. I believe you should act like you are who God has called you to be each and every day even before it actually happens. While I think God does use your current stage to prepare you, preparation should not even be the main thing on your mind. Service should. David’s bear battles were not a political move to get him to the palace. He just gave his all while serving in the season he was in, and God used it. I remember as a kid I would always save my best driveway basketball shots or dunks for when cars would drive by. For some reason, I thought every car was determined to scout me. Elisha wasn't shooting in the driveway, expecting a D1 coach to drive by and pick him up like I was. He was working because it was the right thing to do. And while he was working, God was discussing God in rooms he knew nothing about. Can you say the same about yourself?
Today's verse says that my entire being will wait on the Lord as the watchmen wait. Watchmen in the Bible were like security guards. They would stand on top of the city gates and watch all night for potential enemies. Their waiting wasn't passive, it was active. They didn't know when their time would come, but their job was to be ready. Their job was to wait. As you wait on God to show up like a thief in the night, are you working with the same vigor, seriousness, and eagerness as the city watchmen? While others are sleeping, you're called to be working. While others are being lackadaisical, you are to be working. The watchmen would be armored up, ready to act if an enemy came at a moment's notice. They didn't take days off.
A pastor told a story about how as he was planting a church, he started to get jealous of another church down the street. The other church had multiple campuses and thriving ministries. Their branding was on point. Their merch was designed by creative directors at the top fashion houses. There was a sense of pride and anticipation in the membership. Volunteers had a sense of ownership and were more than excited to serve. People took the church and its ministries seriously. The church was great, and as this pastor was asking questions about this church's success, the staff members began to tell him of the miracles God had performed for them. Anonymous donations of millions had come as they walked in faith during building projects. Professionals had received calls from God to move across the country and join the staff of the church full-time. Record exects felt led to work with the worship teams. God opened doors they didn't knock on and mentioned their names in rooms they didn't know existed. God had done mighty things in the life of this church and as the pastor heard these stories, he began to get even more jealous. He asked God, “Why them and not me?” and God responded with some million-dollar questions Himself... “What would you even do with a million dollars? You can't even steward a $50k salary without getting into debt. Better yet, you're too greedy to be trusted with those resources. You would trust the money more than me” “Do you even have a business plan? Have you ever prepared something to show investors if they ever did come?” “You have not asked me for a clearly communicated vision and you think I’ll trust you with my children?” “When was the last time you stepped out on faith and did the work like you actually believed I’d catch you?” “What about your spiritual life? You don't pray enough for your family of 4 and you expect me to trust you to pray for a mega-church membership?” “What about your time? You can barely be trusted to go on consistent date nights with your wife and you want me to give you more responsibility?”
As God humbled the preacher, he realized that his jealousy was misplaced. He was jealous of someone who just waited better than him. I want you to evaluate in the same way. Are you jealous of people who are just working harder? Are you focused on other people's lanes when God is asking you to run your own race and trust Him? You lose races when you pay attention to the other runners. The city watchmen didn't have a regular job. They were called to something that was opposite to what many of the other jobs in Israel would have been. While everyone else was seen working in the day, they were unseen while working at night. It may have seemed different or odd, and it may not have been flashy. However, when it was finally time, guess who was ready? The people who had been up working.
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