Learn to Wait, August 27
Inside the Cancer Journey: Daily Reflections for Those Coping with Cancer
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Written by Karen Wonders
So as for you, return to your God, Maintain kindness and justice, And wait for your God continually (Hosea 12:6 NASB).
I’ve always admired people who are content to sit and wait on things. I personally have never been very patient. Waiting in lines. Waiting on a phone call. Waiting on something I want really badly. I drive myself crazy trying to figure out ways to manipulate situations so I can decrease my waiting time. Sometimes, I’m successful. Other times, I become so annoyed that even my own children have to remind me to be patient.
What do you do when God asks you to wait? God, who can’t be manipulated. God, who exists outside of the framework of time. How do you trust in Him with all your heart (see Proverbs 3:5) without thinking He meant your specific situation when He said, “with the Lord…a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8)?
My cousin, Camille, has taught me a lot about submitting to God’s will and waiting on Him continually. In the fall of 2012, she confided in me that she desperately wanted a third child. Though she did not know this child, she already loved him and felt he was the missing piece to her family. This desire became so strong that she began to despair that it would never happen. Yet, in His lovingkindness, God began to give her little “signs” that one day He would fulfill this desire. So, she purposed to wait on Him, trusting that He was faithful.
Waiting is so hard when you want something so desperately, isn’t it?
Months turned into years, and still Camille remained without her third child. She even endured a devastating miscarriage. I began to wonder if we were wrong in thinking she would ever have another child. It just seemed … impossible.
That was when God gently reminded me that, with Him, nothing was impossible. Nothing. Not even a car accident.
One afternoon, in the fall of 2015, Camille was driving down the highway when she was hit by an 18-wheeler from behind. This collision sent her into an oncoming lane of traffic, where she was hit by another car. She was rushed to the emergency room, where she learned that not only was she fine, she was pregnant! The baby had survived the accident. Seven months later, a healthy baby boy entered the world.
Sometimes we pray for a situation for so long that we are tempted to give up. We start to believe the lie that God doesn’t hear our prayers. Yet for more than three years, Camille waited patiently on the Lord. She did not lose heart. She did not grow weary. She did not try to manipulate her situation. She simply trusted that God was who He said He was—faithful and true. Whatever you are waiting on the Lord for, do not lose hope! He sees you. He hears your prayers. At the right moment, He will act!
Pray: Father God, teach us to wait patiently on You. Help us to trust that at this very moment, we are right where You want us to be. You hear our cries and will never forsake us. You are in control of everything that will ever happen in our lives. Help us to live for You even while we wait. Help us to remain faithful and obedient in this situation, no matter how long we wait on You. We pray this in Jesus’ name. Amen.
Your Turn: What are you waiting on God for? How will you strengthen your faith as you wait?
Karen Y. Wonders, PhD, FACSM, Cancer Caregiver
Karen is the Founder and CEO of Maple Tree Cancer Alliance, and Professor/Program Director of Exercise Physiology at Wright State University. Her passion is to advocate for exercise as part of the national standard of care for cancer. Her non-profit organization provides free exercise training to thousands of cancer survivors every month (www.mapletreecanceralliance.org). Dr. Wonders and her husband have 7 children—aged 16 and younger. If you think her hands are full, you should see her heart!
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