Have you ever noticed the reactions of people when they are to take turns to be attended to on a queue? I have seen people who liaised with the attendant so they won’t have to wait for long in the queue before they would be attended to.
The true test of how patient you are can be traced to what you do on a queue. Do you jump the queue or you wait till it’s your turn to be attended to?
Waiting is one of the most difficult things every one of us doesn’t like to do, but whether you like it or not, life is not a 400m dash, there are times you’d encounter some delays or stopover before you reach your destination.
In God’s agenda for everyone, God won’t jump a stage or process before He gives you that very thing your heart desires. If you’re trusting God for a partner, there are things you should do while waiting, otherwise, going ahead of Him will be consequential.
1. Develop capacity
An athlete who wants to run a race does not jump into the track and run, he must have been adequately trained before the race.
Develop your financial capacity to make money and be prudent in spending it. Don’t be a spendthrift, only buy what is relevant.
Foster your capacity to become a good spouse. You don’t become a good spouse in marriage, you must have learned what it takes long before marriage. Marriage will only reveal what you have been made of.
There are lots of areas in your life where you should develop capacity. Look inward, and invest in those areas where you are lacking in capacity.
2. Build character
God uses different people, and seasons of life to build character in us. Some people will come to your life for a reason, while some would be there for a season. Those who come for a reason or season have something to teach you.
You can’t learn patience or tolerance until you meet certain people in life; their irrational way of life could force you to learn how to be cool and calm in the midst of life’s situation. Your parent can’t teach you all that you need to become a great spouse, God uses certain people to school us in those areas.
3. Work while you wait
God created man to work, and there are times and seasons for it.
The best time to carry out a certain task before marriage is when you are single. It is when you maximize your single life that you can make the most of your married life.
Work on your dreams; life is not all about getting married, while you pursue no dream. If you don’t have a dream, you don’t have a direction you’re heading in life. What have you dreamt of becoming? This is the best time to actualize it before the demands of marriage sets in.
Work on your habits. What makes a man successful or failure are the habits he nurtures that drive him towards fulfillment or disappointment. Never put your life on hold because you’re waiting to be married.
If you don’t have a good habit, it would take you about 21 days of determination to break it, and if you need to form a new one, you also need the same number of days, plus discipline to form it.
Work to become independent. We all need to be dependent on God, but not to depend on men, that’s faith and responsibility respectively. Those who depend on others for what they need always live at the mercy of who they depend on. Meanwhile, it is pride not to depend on God for what you need, while you look up to men.
Be independent financially. Don’t depend on anyone to survive financially; ladies should take note of this, else some men would use your financial need to lure you into immorality. Make legit money, learn how to manage your money, and acquire skills to multiply it. Don’t live with an entitlement mentality, no one owes you a dime.
Be spiritually independent. Your pastor can’t and should not take the place of God in your life. We all have equal access to God through Jesus Christ and the Holy Spirit. Learn how to hear God speak to you, it’s not rocket science. The only thing that prevents you from hearing His voice is sin or the idols in your heart.
Learn how to pray over issues yourself. We were not born to be prayerful people, we learn it. If you don’t know how to pray, ask Jesus to teach you the way He taught His disciples. It is not by what you say that matters, it’s your relationship with the person you’re praying to that matters.
4. Know God
The most important thing to do while you wait is to know God intimately. God is not a deity to be worshipped, He is a person who craves intimacy.
Do you know that you are worth more than the angels in the sight of God?
Those who know God shall be strong and do exploits. But those who don’t shall become weaklings, and make no impact that would be relevant in eternity. It is the God you know while you’re single that would help you overcome the challenges of life while waiting, one of such is how to escape marrying the wrong person.
It is your knowledge of God that would give you an understanding of certain issues in life, and how to cope with them. Scripture asserts that the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Know God experientially, and not theologically or religiously.
The only way to know God is through Jesus Christ and your koinonia with the Holy Spirit.
👉Do you want to know the right person to marry? Know God.
👉Are there some unanswered questions in your life? Strive to know God in those areas.
👉 Do you have some challenges that seem insurmountable? Seek to know God in that area.
While you’re waiting to be married, temptation would come so you can jump the queue and do it your way. Trust me, the waiting time is not easy, but the end of it, for those who will endure to the end, is always glorious.
Worrying won’t solve anything, neither is wasting your life on the pursuit of vanities the best thing to do. Whether you’re just beginning to wait or your waiting days are numbered, maximize your waiting days for a glorious future. Don’t just wait and do nothing, wait and make great things happen.
