I arrived at my appointment today about an hour early. Not on purpose, but because everything else had been done, and it would have been out of my way to go back home. Thus, I found myself in the parking lot with not a whole lot to do besides waste time. That’s when inspiration struck me.

What exactly does it mean to be “on time” anyway? Does it mean we arrive five minutes early? Two minutes? Two seconds? No; on time is on time. To be on time is to be exactly where we need to be. I’ve foolishly, ignorantly questioned God’s timing many times in my life. Why am I here instead of there? Why hasn’t this happened yet, and is it even going to happen at all? The thing is, in every instance I’ve questioned these things, I’ve always discovered a good answer down the road from when I asked it—more than a good answer, actually—more like a God answer. We all want what we want when we want it, don’t we? Without seeing the bigger picture though, we can’t know for certain what it is that we actually want nor when we want it. God knows things we don’t. This is something I’ve had to come to terms with.

I have to admit, I felt a bit irritated when I arrived to my appointment so early today. But the funny thing is, I didn’t arrive early at all. There was a purpose in the waiting: God wanted me to share this message today. I was on time because God is always on time.

Ironically, waiting is a gift though at times it can seem like a burden. It’s waiting that teaches us our circumstances don’t define us. It’s in waiting we realize we don’t have to have everything we want in order to be who we want—in order to be who God has called us and created us to be.

Are you in a season of waiting right now? Maybe you’re waiting for a particular thing you’ve been praying for, a particular job, a house, a relationship, or maybe you’re waiting for answers. Whatever it is, I want to encourage you as I encourage myself— to live now. We have to keep living even in the waiting. God has plans for you in this season, in every season. Don’t close yourself off to the blessings life has to offer in the season you’re in now, no matter how dark it may be. When we learn to live through the waiting season and appreciate it for all it is, we finally arrive in a place where we aren’t waiting anymore at all; we are living.