Nobody
hates waiting more than I do. At Wal-mart, I use the self-checkout,
because there is usually no line. Unless, of course, I commit the
unpardonable crime of putting the bread on the wrong plastic bag and
the machine begins yelling at me. Then, of course, I have to wait for
the human to come over and fix the machine.

At the post office, I hate waiting an hour to mail a package. So I
usually use the automated box that allows me to send anything slightly
smaller than an elephant.

I especially don't like sitting in traffic in the Chicago suburbs,
where I believe they widen the roads once every 76 years. So I have a
better chance of seeing Haley's Comet than getting into the turn lane
on my local highways. Nice.

So you can understand that I have an especially tough time waiting
on God. He just doesn't seem to fit His plans into my rushed, hurried,
panicked world. And in reading the Scriptures, I've learned that He
hasn't changed.

In fact, almost all of the great men in the Bible had to wait. Some agonizingly long. Let's look at three examples.

Your Prince is Ready

Though Moses grew up in the house of Pharoah and was groomed to be
the next in line for the throne, I believe he saw all of this as God
raising him up to deliver his people, Israel. His mother probably had
something to do with that.

As the years passed and Moses looked from the window of his stately
palace and saw the oppression of his brethren, he grew more and more
impatient. Finally, he acted on impulse and killed an Egyptian
taskmaster.

So that meant 40 years in the wilderness. Here God's people were
suffering and their future deliverer is leading sheep in the backside
of the desert. Yet God wasn't delaying. He wasn't stalling. He wasn't
anxious.

Finally, when Moses was broken and humble enough to be used as an
instrument by God, God sent the 80-year old prince-turned-shepherd back
to Egypt.

But do you see what his happening? The headlines wouldn't read,
"Prince leads coup. Prince leads revolt. Prince overtakes Pharaoh." No,
I wouldn't be about Moses anymore. It would be about God. How about,
"God Miraculously Delivers His People."?

Dreams of Greatness

As a young man, God spoke to Joseph through dreams. In these dreams,
Joseph was leading and his brothers and even world leaders were bowing
at his feet. Kind of heady stuff for a teenager, don't you think? And
it didn't play too well with his brothers.

But Joseph knew God was calling him to a special place. A place of impact and leadership and power.

So that's why Joseph was probably stunned and shocked when he found
himself in the bottom of a pit, praying his brothers wouldn't kill him.
Or when he found himself sold into a strange country, Egypt. Or when he
was thrust into prison on rape charges.

Didn't seem like those dreams were panning out too well, did it? Didn't seem like God was working out His plan?

Oh, but God was working out his plan. And Joseph, while he didn't know a lot, He knew He could trust God.

Running for King

Okay, so this prophet comes to his house, dumps some oil on his
head, and then whispers in his ear, "Oh by the way, you're going to be
Israel's next king." But then it was back to the shepherd's fields,
back to being the forgotten son and brother, back to obscurity.

David was anointed king as a teenager, but he waited 14 long years
to assume the throne. And those 14 years were hard years. He was
Israel's next king, but there was his madman, Saul, who was determined
to see David dead and buried.

If you read the psalms you can experience David's angst. He
scratched his head in wonder, "Why is God allowing Saul to do this?"
"Why doesn't God just move Saul out of the way?"

But again, like Moses, like Joseph, David had to learn to trust God.
And waiting, is trusting. David had to be broken, humble, and read to
lead God's people.

Do you see a pattern developing here? God often gives his people a
dream, a desire, a calling and then puts them through a period of
waiting.

It is in this waiting where your real courage and character are
forged. It is in this period of uncertainty that you're life takes on a
whole new dimension. You learn how to trust God. You learn to lean on
God. You learn what's important and what's not important.

So if you're like me and you really hate to wait, know that waiting is trusting.

Daniel Darling is the author of Teen People of the Bible. Visit him at danieldarling.com.