Waiting has become as much a part of our lives as eating, sleeping, shopping, or driving.
 
We wait to catch a bus, an airplane flight, a shuttle, taxicab, or other transportation services, or sit in the waiting room of the doctor’s or dentist’s office. These types of services generally operate on a schedule.
 
Then, there are activities involving our personal investment of time, like waiting in line at the DMV, standing in line to pay for groceries, waiting to pick up your child after school, or walking your pet. All of these activities, and others, involve waiting and time.
 
The historical roots of time began with the story of Creation when evening and morning were marked as “the first day.” There is nothing to indicate a definite period of time spent on the creation of day and night. However, history tells us that the method for calculating the 24-hour day from sunset to sunset was based on the original first day. (Genesis 1:5). The Bible also informs us that God finished all the work of Creation on the “seventh day” with no definite time period indicated for actual completion.
 
It appears that several events influenced the design of the weeks, months, years, and seasons without mention of specific eras for time calculation. It took hundreds of years for a full calendar to emerge. Yet, we become impatient over a schedule that dictates our day-to-day life journey.
 
Waiting and time are companions. Waiting requires endurance and determination; time requires faith and expectation. How are you managing your wait? If you are whining, complaining, comparing your waiting period to someone else, or pouring out your wait story on your friends, I suggest you clasp your hand over your mouth and sigh deeply.
 
I will admit that waiting patiently for something in the current environment is not very popular. Several years ago, the invention of the microwave oven was a huge deal. Still, in comparison to today’s hyper-automation, robotics, the internet, chatbots, etc., which produce results at what seems like warp speed, early technology has almost gone the way of the dinosaur.
 
Here are a few hints on waiting that may ease the stress when you feel you are approaching the “tired of waiting” syndrome:

• Timing is everything – unless you have a crystal ball, or you can see into the future, you don’t know what boulder may be headed your way! Consider that waiting may be what keeps you from being zapped by that boulder.

• Waiting brings maturity, completeness, and inward strength. (James 1:4)

• Four Don’ts:
  1. look to others for the solution
  2. borrow money
  3. try to do things your way
  4. become discouraged
• Find a way to be exceedingly grateful for the time you spend waiting.

God does not have a deadline; one day with the Lord is like a thousand years and a thousand years like one day. (2 Peter 3:8). Exercising patience while you spend time waiting, will yield great rewards in whatever activity you are involved or in whatever situation you are faced.
 
Waiting and time will build your character and strengthen your faith. Some of our most memorable life events have occurred when we waited for the outstanding instead of rushing and getting the mediocre.

There is a lingering question that can capture and confuse part of the life journey experience for many people. It is a question that has led to articles and books that have gone into great detail in a valiant attempt to shine a light on the answer.

Pastors, motivational speakers, psychologists, philosophers, etc., have carved out their opinion on the answer. It has become one of the most popular modern-day topics and usually initiates meditation and soul-searching.

You enter into another dimension of thought when you ask, “What is my purpose for being here?” Or phrased another way, “What do I contribute by my existence?” Even the formal definition of purpose assumes we were created and exist in this three-dimensional world for a reason.

Some of the most popular books on the topic offer tools to get you started on your expedition to find your purpose. Although I believe many of these tools are helpful, I am confident the answer to purpose is found in my go-to book, the Bible, where I always find answers to what seem like unanswerable questions.

To enjoy your purpose, you must begin with one unalterable premise. Without this, your quest will result in little if any success. Belief and faith in God are essential because rewards follow belief. (Hebrews 11:6) If you have this belief, then you will know that you are not an amoeba or the product of a cosmic collision. You were created by God, fearfully and wonderfully made in His image. (Genesis 1:27; Psalm 139:14)

Since God created us, then we know we will be able to carry out the actions He designed for us. (Psalm 37:23) Some of the most negative and evil circumstances we may face can be used by God for good. For example:

• Joseph was thrown into a pit, sold into slavery, falsely imprisoned, became overseer of all of Egypt. (Genesis 41:41)
• Job lost everything, including all of his children, but God restored all of his fortune and gave him more than he originally had. (Job 42:12)
• At the 2021 Tokyo Paralympics Games, participants competed who were developmentally and/or mentally challenged, some without limbs or in wheelchairs. Many won 3 and 4 gold medals.

Even when we take missteps on our life road map or make bad choices, we can seek help to find our way back on the right road toward our purpose through humility and seeking forgiveness. Hell cannot stop us from completing the purpose God has designed for each of us if we have faith to believe in His eternal love, mercy, and grace.

God did not hiccup in His creation of you. Your heart, mind, talents, abilities, and personality, were all designed to accomplish your purpose in this chaotic world.

The upshot of all of this is that purpose is not static. It is active and alive in you every day. You are fulfilling your purpose when you allow the Lord to guide you in all that you do. Believe in God, listen to your heart and you will not become haunted by: “What is my purpose in life?” You already know the answer. (Romans 8:28)

As part of my annual medical exam, I had a complete lab work-up. I must say that the results were stunning and especially revealing.

Apart from the usual glucose and cholesterol screening, every vitamin or mineral supplement was detailed in the blood work by type and amount. I was amazed that the details of my diet could be found in these results. Healthy or unhealthy, it is all there in the blood.

I was immediately struck by the Scripture: “The life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11). The more I thought about my results, the more I realized that I was a turtle in understanding the principle.

Blood brotherhood or friendship has been used for centuries to denote inter-transference of blood. The medical procedure of blood transfusion is a common occurrence in which donated blood is provided through an IV line. A transfusion can save a life when the patient has severe blood loss due to injury, disease, or other disorders.

Similarly, everything we think, say, or do is exposed. Nothing is ever hidden. To name a few, if we are mean-spirited and angry, we become resentful—our blood pressure is affected. If we are ungrateful or invite bitterness and pride to set up shop in our attitude—depression and mental breakdown may occur. If we are lazy, we become irresponsible, unsuccessful, and a “blame shifter.” Chemical imbalance, hard facial features, blood diseases, and lowered immune systems are frequently consequences of inward roots or thorns that we believe are hidden from view. But they are never hidden--never.

One of the most detrimental emotions that can lacerate and harm the blood is anger. Anger is like shattered glass. It can not only harm any person who gets struck by the glass, but you, yourself, become a perfect specimen for disability. When anger becomes your daily companion, it displays an evil bag of tricks: vindictive personal feelings, personal revenge, screaming, cursing, rage, striking/beating, destroying. It becomes the drum beat for greater strife and division. If anger is one of the regular displays of your personality, it has invaded your blood that leads to the heart. It has become the undertaker of your soul, preparing you for your exit.

In today’s environment, anger and its helpers are always waiting in the wings for their cue to take place in your life. Many people of the Bible faced the same characters and left us with unforgettable examples.

Saul’s jealousy and disloyalty gradually caused him to become angry and bitter—he was tormented by depression. (I Samuel 16:14). Eventually, his entire family was wiped out. Judas Iscariot was not only a traitor, but also a thief. His guilt-ridden soul induced him to commit suicide. (Matthew 27:3-4) David’s son, Absalom, had his brother murdered because of anger toward his brother for raping their sister. (2 Samuel 13:28-29).

Scripture instructs us to exterminate all thorns and squatters that invade the blood of the spirit, and our physical bodies. Learn to cherish your body temple and make way for the things that cleanse your blood and your spirit, e.g., love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, humility, and self-control. (Galatians 5:22-23)