If there’s one thing I know about you–it’s that you don’t like to wait. You don’t like waiting at a stoplight. You don’t like waiting in line at the post office. You don’t like waiting for a package to come in the mail. You also don’t like waiting for answers to your prayers.

I don’t either. No one likes to wait…for anything. We want it and we want it now.

One of things I’ve tried to help my kids understand is the concept of patiently waiting. For example, we’re all in the car ready to go home or out to lunch after church, but Robyn (my wife) is still inside talking. The kids of course get impatient.

“Where’s mom?”

“What’s she doing?”

“I’m going in to get her.”

I used to say those things, too. And, if I’m honest, I can still start to feel that way at times, but I’ve also learned that it’s okay to wait. A lot of life is comprised of waiting, so we might as well all get used to it.

Many years ago, one of my high school teammates was complaining about an injury to his finger one day. I’ll never forget my coach’s response, “It takes a lot to kill a human being.”

Finger injuries won’t kill us. Neither will waiting

Actually, that’s not always true.

In John 11, Jesus gets word that his good friend Lazarus had died. Jesus tells His disciples, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”

Then John tells us that Jesus loved Mary, Martha and Lazarus. That’s significant because of the word that comes next. The word that confuses us. The word on which the whole story hinges.

“Yet.”

“Yet when he heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed where he was two more days.”

Does that surprise you? Does it bother you? At least a little?

Jesus loved Lazarus and his sisters. He got word Lazarus was sick. Yet He stayed where He was for two more days.

It’s not like Jesus shot off an email or sent a text to let them know He wasn’t coming. He just didn’t show. His good friend is sick, but He waits around for a couple of days before going to him.

Maybe Lazarus was too sick to even know. The sickness did end up killing him, at least for a few days, but Mary and Martha saw that Jesus wasn’t coming. I’m sure they kept watching the road, waiting for Jesus, but He didn’t show.

“Yet.”

Maybe you or a loved one are dealing with a serious illness. Could be you’re trying to sell your house. Or waiting for a call back after the job interview. Maybe you’re waiting and waiting and waiting…to get pregnant.

Are you okay with “yet?”

Jesus told His disciples that the sickness would not end in death, rather it was for God’s glory. Jesus could have easily gone right away and healed Lazarus. We know from other stories that He really didn’t even need to go–He just needed to say the word and Lazarus would have been healed.

This time was going to be different though. This time Jesus was going to raise a man from the dead. A man who’d be in the grave for four days. Jesus was going to kick it up a notch.

Are you okay with God using your circumstances, your waiting, your suffering, your confusion…for His glory?

I’ll be honest, I have to check myself even as I ask that question. I’m right in there with you. I don’t like to wait any more than you do.

Will I wait, and wait patiently without complaining, if it will result in God’s glory?

Yet. Small word. Huge implications for how I live my life.

Are you in a season of “yet?” Could it be that God is orchestrating circumstances in such a way that your prayer is not only answered, but answered in a way that brings glory to Him?

Are you okay with that?

Let me conclude with two last things. First, I know there’s pain and confusion in the waiting. And unlike the situation with Lazarus, our circumstances don’t always turn out like we’d hoped. Our family member dies. The house doesn’t sell and we lose it in foreclosure. The job goes to someone else. A good, faithful woman remains infertile.

I won’t pretend to understand why God does or doesn’t answer some prayers. And I don’t have the words to erase the pain that unanswered prayers can cause, but the second thing I want to share has to do with the shortest verse in the Bible.

Eventually, Jesus made His way to Bethany where Mary and Martha were now mourning their brother. Once there, He sees the pain they’re in and John tells us:

“Jesus wept.”

Why did Jesus cry? Think about it–He’d already told His disciples that the sickness would not end in death. He knew He was about to raise Lazarus from the dead. If it was me, I’d have a hard time suppressing a huge grin knowing I was about to bring a dead man to life and give him back to his mourning sisters!

Not Jesus though. Jesus wept. He wept in response to the pain that Mary and Martha were feeling. He saw their pain and felt it with them. It didn’t matter that He was about to perform a miracle and turn everything around. He entered into their pain and felt it, too.

Jesus feels your pain. He’s not far away and unconcerned. He sees what you’re going through and feels your pain.

As you live in a season of “yet”, remember that while God is orchestrating circumstances for His glory, He also feels your pain. He hurts with you.

Waiting is never easy. Often it’s confusing and painful. But there’s a good and loving God behind it. A God we can believe in.