The Waiting Period

I came to the US on September 21, 2002; that is the arrival date stamped on my passport. That journey started 10 years prior. It began by activating a network of well-placed friends and a university professor. I was born in the US, and technically, it didn’t really require much more to make the transition. But somehow, all the doors were closed. In fact, “closed” is a gentler word—they were shut down. God had plans for me in the university town where I grew up. Those ten years turned out to be the formative years for why I am still in ministry today. When those well-placed opportunities were shut, I had two options: try, try again, or just embrace it. When the last door—the best of them all—was shut, I was really disappointed, but there was this message in my heart that could not be drowned by the disappointment: God never fails. It was that word that made me realize who was behind it. I didn’t try again. I didn’t go on any self-improvement course. I just opened my heart to the call that was within me. When I finally came in 2002, it only took a day to finalize everything, and God used a complete stranger, who went out of his way, to line things up.

In Ruth 1, Elimelech and his wife, Naomi, were well-placed people. They had their lives in front of them. They had everything going for them. The Bible doesn’t give us this backstory, but we can deduce all that from verses 19–21. The reception when Naomi came back reflects the potential that was thrown away in one decision. Everything was going well for them, but there was one problem: there was a famine in the land. In that part of the world, famine was not something new—certainly, nothing that God could not take care of for them. In fact, why bring God into it? It was nothing that they themselves could not take care of. After all, they were, it seems, like the only ones that left. Everyone else that stayed was well ahead of their situation. It was only Elimelech and Naomi who came out worse. The husband died, and the two sons died, in a place that was supposed to be a temporary fix to a problem. They chose to leave. They chose not to wait for the famine to pass over.

Are you passing through a famine or dry spell in your life, and your solution is to explore a temporary fix? Is God tugging at your heart about something, and you have ignored or chosen not to do it? Are you in this place where you feel like you have plenty of options to take care of the famine? Whatever it is, God is telling you not to leave, but instead to wait. God is in control of every situation, and those who put their trust in Him—He always brings them through. There is a call upon your life. There is something that God needs you to take care of in this dry spell that you are going through. There is something God wants to grow in you. This famine is just a preparation for what He has in store for you.

The parable of the ten virgins (Matthew 25:1-13) teaches us to learn how to wait on Him. The word bridegroom is often used as a metaphor for Jesus in the Bible. The church is likened to a bride with Christ as her bridegroom. All these virgins needed to do was wait for the bridegroom or be in the room when the groom arrived. The Bible tells us there was delay, a famine, a setback. All the virgins began to nod off, and they fell asleep. They were all sleeping when the announcement came that the bridegroom was coming: Go out and meet him. All the virgins got up and trimmed their lamps, but the foolish ones had run out of oil, so they had no lamps to trim. All we need to remember is that the whole point of this is for them to meet the bridegroom. Nothing else. The foolish virgins went in search of oil—which, to be honest, at midnight, there is no oil seller available. While they were on their way to buy oil, the groom came. They might have even passed him on the way if they hadn’t gone in the wrong direction. I believe that they didn’t need oil to meet the bridegroom. Their foolishness is much less about preparation (this parable is only found in Matthew’s Gospel, which was written with a Jewish audience in mind; the imagery in the parable—wedding customs, lamps, and the bridegroom—would be very familiar to this audience and culturally relevant); their foolishness is more about timing, they left to buy oil when all they needed to do was wait for the bridegroom to come, to be in the room when He comes. The bridegroom comes to take away our sins; the bridegroom comes to complete us. Jesus didn’t ride into Jerusalem on some gold-plated chariot drawn by a magnificent horse. He rode into Jerusalem on the back of a lowly donkey. The virgins didn’t need to have it all figured out. It is not the lack of oil that kicks people out of the wedding banquet but the lack of proper wedding attire (Matthew 22:11). These virgins were all dressed for the part, they just went to get oil for their lamp. Jesus is the source of the oil, the oil that never runs out.

The problem with waiting is usually this: what do we do? We often become so anxious during the waiting period that we end up leaving prematurely. That anxiety is a sign that we are overly focused on ourselves or our perceived lack of worth. We try too hard to please, and as a result, we attempt to fix things on our own instead of coming to Him for the solution.

Waiting is not idle—it is a time spent seeking God’s direction. It is a season of preparation for the next chapter. In the parable, all of them fell asleep. If they hadn’t slept, they would have had the time to go check on their lamps and realize their need to replenish before the groom arrived. So, while you wait, do not fall into spiritual slumber. Waiting is a time of active preparation. It is not a break from purpose; rather, it is a break from your regular programming to create space for God’s program in your life.

What to do while waiting?
Monday: Revelations 2:4-5, Esther 4:12-17
Don’t leave. And if you have, go back to your first love for Him. This season of famine might just be what the Good Shepherd prescribed just for you.

Tuesday: Matthew 25:1-13, Hebrews 12:1-2
Avoid distractions. Get rid of distractions in your life. Like the virgins, trim your lamps and get them in order. In that process, check on your oil level and go back to the source.

Wednesday: 1 Peter 1:13-25
Grow in holiness and dependence on Him. This becomes clearer as you get rid of distractions in your life. The measure of growth in this area is an indicator of less distraction.

Thursday: John 3:26-36
Position yourself for more of Him. Like Samuel, stop in your tracks and tell Him to speak because you are finally in position to listen and do. The reason we are not listening is because we are too preoccupied with ourselves.

Friday: Matthew 28:16-20
Occupy. Share the gospel. Connect with others. Invite them to also meet the bridegroom. Ten is just a round number; Jesus is looking for way more than ten righteous people.

Saturday: Ephesians 5:11-21
Never lose focus on what’s truly important. Don’t nod off. When you begin to nod off, it means you are not doing Monday through Friday as God desires. There is much preparation to be done.