Waiting is hard.
If you've been following Masterchef you will have seen bakers crouch eagerly at their ovens, watching their creations transform. All impatient for the moment that the alarm buzzes and they can nervously face the scrutiny that awaits.
It’s all in the baking! If we were to skip the process, or even shave off valuable minutes or in some cases seconds, then the results could be completely different. The result would be either an odd looking cake, or a rather sore stomach.
The bakers are caught in this odd tension of wanting to get their cake out – aware of each second that ticks by, whilst recognising the importance of what happens whilst it’s in the oven. It can’t be rushed by turning up the heating dial (why I end up with burnt rice), or quickened by stolen glances.
We find ourselves in this tension in life. You know, when you have God given dreams, prophesies and goals that you have held for weeks – years ? Sometimes the passion and excitement can be too much to bear, yet you know you have to wait.
Remember being a child in the run up to Christmas. That sense of anticipation and excitement, the irritation at seeing all those unopened doors on the advent calendar that are getting in the way of you and Christmas day. We want it ‘NOW’. But if we had had Christmas when we desired it (probably before the calendars even hit the shelves), then it wouldn’t have been the same. The weather wouldn’t justify a cosy open fire, the presents wouldn’t have been wrapped.
It’s in the waiting that these things come about. But not just any waiting – proactive waiting in which we make God led decisions. For if we were just to sit and wait for the things we hope for – we may risk not being the person we need to be when we get there.
A little part of me wants to click my fingers and be 3 years down the line where I am really able to use my skills as a therapist and see people freed and empowered. But – if I was there now, right this very second – I may be more damaging than helpful. I wouldn’t have the knowledge and the skills needed that grow through time and learning. It would be like taking the cake out of the oven early.
When circumstance requires a wait – don’t sit still. Walk with God. Grow, challenge, and develop into the you that will make the wait even more worthwhile.
Be the cake in the oven . Focus on the present, live in the now with God, but in knowledge of the future he has planned for you – live your testimony.
Bake.
Anna Mathur