The Waiting Game

I knew I would win because I always won; no one had beaten me. Pure confidence flowed through my veins as I fixed my eyes on the finish line and ran as fast as my feet would take me. I was queen of the 100-metre race and everyone in my elementary school knew it.

Growing up, I gravitated towards sports and positions that were based on speed: forward in soccer, winger in hockey, and anchor in track relay. I was good at sprinting because I could run hard for a short amount of time, but I shied away from activities that took too much time. 

When my sister-in-law Anita encouraged (forced) me to enter a 10km race with her a few years ago, there was not a single part of me that believed I could finish. I was a sprinter, not a long-distance runner. But I agreed to run on the condition that I would quit once it got too hard.

Similarly to running, I have been really good at sprinting in my spiritual life. I will trust God for a time, but if things aren’t going the way I thought, if God’s way seems too hard, or if He's just taking too long, I am often tempted to turn to something else to alleviate my discomfort. 

With endless quick-fixes at our fingertips, it can be so hard to wait on the Lord and trust His way and His timing.

Feeling empty and exhausted after a long day? Chocolate can help.

Mounting stress from too many demands? Escape and avoid through hours of Netflix.

Feeling disconnected from those closest to you? Put up a wall and seek fulfillment elsewhere.

These quick-fixes offer us comfort when we are feeling something unpleasant, but they do not take away our problems or cure our emptiness. 

Why not?

Perhaps that is because the comfort we are searching for cannot be found in something but only in someone.

And what if, by turning to everything else, we are turning away from the One who can bring us the comfort we are looking for?

Is our need to relieve compromising our ability to receive?

Life brings many seasons of struggle, discomfort and pain, and it can be hard to keep going. Jesus does not promise to give us easy, perfect lives, but He promises to be with us constantly, in the form of the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is our advocate – one who helps us, champions us, supports us, and upholds us.

When do you find it hardest to keep trusting and keep seeking God's way? 

The more uncomfortable I feel, the more I look for a way out. But God has never given me permission to quit, because He is everything I need to keep going. 

When we want to quit, we need more of Jesus. When we are uncomfortable, we need more of Jesus. When we can't see a way, we need more of Jesus. He will give us exactly what we need to keep running our race, because everything we need is found in Him. 

Jeremiah 29:12-13

“Then you will call on me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.”

When we seek Him, we will find Him. It is only in His presence where we are given our daily bread – what we need for each and every day.

Over an hour into my 10km race, I found myself crossing the finish line. I had wanted to stop running many times throughout the race, but Anita wouldn’t let me. When I stopped, she grabbed my hand and told me to keep going. When I was exhausted, she told me we could do it.

Just like Anita encouraged me to keep running, the Holy Spirit is our encourager when we want to quit. Our community of fellow-runners are the ones who grab our hands and tell us to keep going.

Having endurance is hard, but let us be people who wait on the Lord. If we are in Christ, we are in this race with Jesus for the long-haul. So let this be your encouragement (and mine) today to keep running your race.

Keep trusting. Keep fixing your eyes. Keep abiding.

When you are tempted to turn to the quick-fix, remember that there is no fix like Jesus.