There’s not a mountain too tall
There’s not a problem too small
That Jesus can’t resolve
In time He’ll get involved
Our God He cares about usSo wait on the Lord
Wait on the Lord
Wait on the Lord
And He’ll renew your strengthThere’s not a light too dark
A journey too long to embark
Jesus will see you through
In time He’ll make you new
Our God He cares about us‘Cause He’s ordering, He’s ordering your strength
You’ve got to wait, you’ve got to wait
- Wait on the Lord – Brandon Wilson
This is what my fiancé said to me, “This has taught me patience.”
The background story?
It was a simple renovation to a small apartment God had blessed my fiancé and I with. Or so it seemed. Our initial plan was to change all the windows and also give all the ceilings in the house a facelift. We wanted to change the ceiling from the original-styled plywood to a Plaster of Paris styled (P.O.P) ceiling.
I once heard someone say that construction work is never within budget. Can that usher over there hand that someone a microphone to repeat it?!!
I am convinced that two things never ever stay within a budget; a wedding and construction project budget. Lol.
The renovation project started small, and the plan was for it to stay small. However, before I could finish sipping my non-alcoholic sparkling wine, the budget for the project grew like a disrespectful forehead pimple that suddenly appears gets bigger when you have a hot date in a few days. No matter how much we sulked, the cost stayed and grew.
The good news is that the ceiling designs we chose for all the rooms including our small hallway were absolutely beautiful designs. But there was bad news as well. By the time the work was done, the ceiling in our hallway like my fiance put it, looked like “a monstrosity”.
Considering how small the hallway was, it looked like the Hulk in Bruce Banner’s clothes after transformation. It looked like “too much” in the small space.
The inflated balloon of our expectation for that hallway design popped so hard it was probably heard in the “multiverse” lol (I need to lay off this Marvel comic imagery). The other rooms had turned out perfectly. We expected that this last part (the hallway) of the project would be the final crowning glory, especially because it was the entry point into the house. But alas! the monstrosity stole our laughter.
I am not throwing my fiancé (now husband) under the bus but he entered into complaint mode. We started exploring all the options to remedy “the fault”. We considered removing the parts of the design from the ceiling that made it look ostentatious. “What do we do?” was the question. We were scared that we would be laughed at. We saw what looked like our dreams of a beautifully decorated place go down the drain. But like the pimple I spoke about, this too we could not remove. So we took comfort in the fact that we would own our mistake and brave it out as hardcore-we-don’t-give-a-hoot-what-you-think gang. lol. But we actually cared. Don’t buy our fake bravado.
Eventually, we just thought to ourselves, “you know what? perhaps the aesthetic was disrupted by the ghastly yellow and black wallpaper on one side of the wall and the wine-painted color on the other part of the walls” – features we intended to change but constituted the final stage of the entire project. So we decided to execute “Plan Mitigate”. We consulted with each other and some interior design blogging sites. We finally decided to go all white for the walls to match the white of the ceiling.
Good news! It turned out fantastic in the end. Once the ceiling lights were fixed, the distracting wallpaper and paint scraped off, and a new rich coat of all white paint applied, Voila! The true beauty of the ceiling popped. It stood there without all the distracting factors and it was a work of art. No more the monstrosity we had initially judged it to be.
Then my fiancé said, “I am so glad we waited. Imagine what we would have lost had we decided too quickly and interfered with the design. THIS HAS TAUGHT ME TO BE PATIENT.”
We learned a big lesson that day.
Anyone can be in such a place in life. In the small hallways of our lives, our issues, problems, projects, dreams and like matters may like the ceiling appear monstrous. They seem to overshadow the entirety of our existence. It can be a person who doesn’t behave the way we want them to. Or a season of pain, hurt, disappointment, and all the craziness of this life. A situation that looks ghastly at the beginning. Often, it becomes all we see. Yet, the beauty of that situation or person may be obstructed by all the other things happening around us. Unfortunately, we may judge too early. Act too fast. We sometimes act based on the fear of the opinion of others; scared to be laughed at. Sometimes it simply looks bad from certain angles from which we look at it.
But! If you would give it time. Wait. Wait till the end. The diamond in the rough will shine ever brightly. The value of patience is indeed great. Our perspective is oft times the main issue and not what we are facing. We need to consider our perspective.
It is not easy to be patient. Especially in our present world where everything and everyone is on a fast track race. Our perspectives are so limited. We can only see from where we stand. Unfortunately, where we stand is not always perfect. We can make wrong or hurried choices if we do not learn how to wait. The right attitude matters. The right motive matters. The right perspective also matters.
With our humble ailing project, a little bit of patience saved us from a mistake. We managed to avoid a greater destruction. Yet often, the issues of our lives are much more complicated than this ceiling problem. They are the stuff that can make or break us. The stuff that stretch us to our breaking point. And we often want to resort to our own ways to resolve them.
When Abraham moved too quickly, relying on his own ways ahead of God’s time, he made a choice that has had generational impact. He bore a son out of works. He bore a son out of his impatience instead of waiting in faith.
Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land
God wants us to wait. At the place of indecision, wait on Him. Why should we wait on God? First of all, he is not in a hurry. His timing is right. Secondly, he has the right perspective. He decides and designs all things from a position of perfection and so we are assured that we cannot get it wrong with him. We cannot lose when we trust wholly and completely in Him.
We have a perfect example; a perfect man who did not rush. He patiently endured having foresight of the end from the beginning. He already had a clear view of the grand design and the finishing of it. Therefore, He was unperturbed by the agitations happening all around Him. He trusted in His Father in Heaven – wholly and completely. He was unmoved by false accusations or praises. He did not judge by external appearances nor loose sight of what He knew to be the perfect end for Him. That man is Jesus Christ. He was never a step out of time. Every Christian is called to be conformed to His image; to focus on Him and imitate Him.
When He followed God faithfully until the very end, not seeking His own way, He finally declared “It is Finished”. Now His name is exalted above every name, having fulfilled the will of God for Him on the cross.