I know patience is a virtue. It’s just not my virtue.
When things aren’t happening the way I think they should, or they’re not happening when I think they should, the odds are good that I will do…something.
The thing is, sometimes waiting is exactly what God is calling us to do.
We all know the line about how God always answers prayers, but sometimes the answer is “no.” That’s right, as far as it goes. But there’s another answer.
Sometimes the answer is “not yet.” That’s the one that I struggle with.
I do better with a flat “no.” At least I know where I stand.
When it comes to “not yet,” my first instinct is - I want to know when. I want to know how. I need details.
God almost always has other ideas.
Because “not yet” isn’t a pointless hurry up and wait. Or the sign of a disorganized deity who needs to get His stuff together.
Whatever other reason there may be for the delay, God’s “not yet” is a practical antidote to the pride that a lack of patience smuggles into our lives. The vanity that gives itself away when I insist on knowing when and how, when I demand details from God.
It’s why Jesus says in today’s Gospel, “no slave is greater than his master nor any messenger greater than the one who sent him.”
Which means that if God’s giving us a “not yet,” we’ve got a choice. We can go with that first instinct. Demand details from God. Maybe even do it ourselves (and end up with all kinds of things we never wanted).
And give away the truth. That whoever you and I think we’re trusting, we’re really relying on some of the least dependable people we know. Us.
After all, how many times have you and I been wrong before?
Or we can trust God. Even when the answer is “not yet.”
Resting in the knowledge that whatever we think “has to happen,” the God who has always loved us has something better in store for us than we could ever ask or imagine.