Who is waiting on who? Ever since the movie Fireproof spread like wildfire amongst Christian America, John Waller's song While I'm Waiting has enjoyed monstrous popularity. It's a great song about using the single years to serve God, to worship God, to run the race. And I agree with that. The single years prepare us for success or failure in marriage. Until we marry- and still after we marry- we should be focusing on growing closer to Him, maturing into a stronger child of His, representing Christ to the world. But I think the song missed the gist of waiting. The song sends the message that we are waiting on Him: "I'm waiting on You, Lord, And I am hopeful, I'm waiting on You, Lord, Though it is painful, But patiently, I will wait... I'm waiting on You, Lord, And I am peaceful, I'm waiting on You, Lord, Though it's not easy, But faithfully, I will wait". But who is waiting on who?
Maybe it's just me, but doesn't it seem like this song views God in a negative light? The song proclaims that we are the ones waiting; that it's hard to wait on Him, but we'll be patient with Him. Is that really what God is like? A few steps behind us? Not understanding that we're ready for marriage? I don't think so. This song reminds me of ordering something supercool online. While I was waiting 2-5 business weeks, I would sing, "I'm waiting on you, eBay, though it is painful, but patiently, I will wait, I'm waiting on you, eBay, though it's not easy, but faithfully, I will wait". Somehow I just don't think God is behind on anything. He isn't like waiting on that package in the mail.
One of the key lessons I learned from Josh Harris is that God is the one waiting on us. God has to wait on us to grow up, to mature, to ready ourselves for marriage. I believe we must come to the place where we can manage the priorities of our hearts before He blesses us with "the one". As a man, I must be physically, emotionally, financially, and spiritually ready for a family before I can have one. Wouldn't it be unwise for God to give me a wife and for me to not be ready? If He blessed my marriage before I was ready, wouldn't that be like handing a smoking grenade to a little kid? If God's timing is perfect, if His wisdom is ultimate, if His love is all-powerful, then I believe He will not let me marry the woman He has set aside for me until I am ready for her.
So are we waiting on God? Are we ready right now, today, to be married? Or is He the One waiting on us to be ready? He knows when I'll be ready to handle the drama, stress, of responsibility of marriage. He wisely and lovingly and patiently awaits the day when my wife and I are both ready for each other and for our children. He's there with us each day, patiently helping us grow. He's the only Way we can ever be ready for marriage. As our Helper, He'll be in the ring with us day in and day out, helping us and preparing us for marriage. God is a loving God; He can't wait to bless us to kingdom come, but He knows the best time to bless us. That's why He's the one waiting on us.
6 comments:
YAY! I love this post! Wow. Great great thoughts. I haven't thought of it like that before, but I'm glad I have now! We are preparing. These years are the years to learn how to use/put on the whole armor of God so we can be ready for all of life, especially marriage. Thanks for reminding me to not be lazy and work hard, because Jesus is coming soon, and...hopefully Prince Charming too. :)
I hope my readers read this blog. Seems like our posts sometimes go together...and they're good. :)
Wait, so are you comparing women to smoking grenades???? ;)
Nice, nice, nice! I agree with what you said. What's funny is that I actually view the song differently. I don't see it as talking about waiting for marriage. I see it as waiting for God to reveal His plan, waiting for God to fulfill His promise, waiting for God to say "now is the right time" for something. Sometimes it is hard to wait for God's timing when I want to do something right this minute, and that is more how I view the song. BUT everything you said in your post is great, and I certainly agree with what you said about the song if that were its only meaning.
That's true, Jennifer. I had just always thought the song to be about marriage because of its popularity with Fireproof. I guess that means it can be waiting on God for anything, not just marriage. But I believe my thesis that God is actually the one waiting on us is still true. Thanks for pointing that out!
I've thought about it more and I completely agree! Even in times of waiting for other things besides marriage, it could just be that God is waiting for us before He does anything. I often wonder if some things in my life are just slow in coming because God knows that I'm not reading for them yet, and He is waiting for me to trust Him and love Him more before he blesses me with those things.
I agree; I think usually, God is waiting on us. I think a big factor here is dissatisfication. Isn't it funny how teenagers always want to be older? Teenagers strive to get older, hence the all-important 18th birthday, the coolness of nice cars, the facial hair craze, the desire to move out, and so on. Yet old people always wanna be young! Why do you think old guys always have hot sports cars, or old women die their hair? If we teenagers could be satisfied to enjoy what we have (youthfullness, energy, young faces, freedom, friends, our parents' money, the rest of our lives, etc), then maybe college and marriage wouldn't seem so stressful, or even so important.
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