It began with a cup of coffee for the road, as I headed out a few minutes late for the Pittsburgh airport. But daydreaming, I drove the wrong direction. I was probably wondering why cows always seem to face the same direction. Ten minutes into my drive I suddenly jolted into reality and realized I was heading east away from Pittsburgh. I found a turnaround and began hurtling west, but I'd lost at least 20 minutes, and I was going to be cutting it close.

About 45 minutes into the 2 hour trip to the airport, my bladder kicked in from the coffee. Normally, I'd stop somewhere, but since I was running late, I decided I'd push on to Pittsburgh. That's when I saw the sign: "Congestion next 5 miles". Waiting in the slow moving lanes I felt a twinge of anxiety along with increasing pressure from the coffee. Emerging from the congestion, I gunned it toward the airport, praying I'd make my plane.

I finally arrive. Now I'm dying from bladder pain. At the shuttle bus shelter I frantically press the button, smiling weakly at another traveler. Where's the bus? No bus in sight. I consider running to the terminal, but it's too far away. I'll never make it. I just have to wait. Finally, an eternity later, the bus appears.

Now waiting takes on epic dimensions. I'm almost hallucinating as the bus stops at every shelter in the parking lot. People board the shuttle in slow motion. I'm biting the inside of my cheeks to distract myself. Waiting, waiting, waiting. Arghhhh. Eons later, the bus pulls into the terminal, and dreamlike, I run inside to find the men's room. Mercifully, I made it.

Waiting is part of our lives, especially as believers.

Lamentations 3:24-26 says, “The Lord is my portion,” says my soul,“therefore I will hope in him.” The Lord is good to those who wait for him,to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

Why does the Lord tell us it is good for us to wait for him? Sometimes waiting seems hard and painful. Why can't I have whatever I want right now?

Scripture tells us that waiting helps us realize that "The Lord is my portion", that which most satisfies, that which gives true life and joy and fulfillment. The things we so crave in this life, even good things, are not a believer's portion. Only the Lord is. Since "the Lord is my portion, therefore I will hope in him." Not in the things I am waiting for.

It is good to wait, for as we do, we become increasingly aware that the Lord is the portion we most deeply long for. If we could get all we want, yet without God, we'd be truly bankrupt, miserable and hopeless. If God always responded the minute we asked, we'd greedily grab his gifts, run off to enjoy them, and forget the one who gave them. Waiting focuses our hearts on the Giver of the gifts we seek.

How about you? Are you waiting for God to heal you, or give you a job or a wife or some other answer to prayer?

As you are waiting, say to your loving Father, "Lord, you are my portion. I will hope in you. Thank you for making me wait. Teach me to be satisfied in you and you alone."

By the way, I made my plane.