The waiting is the hardest part

The great theologian (jk) Tom Petty of Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers once wrote a song with the following chorus:

The waiting is the hardest part
Every day you see one more card
You take it on faith, you take it to the heart
The waiting is the hardest part.

I am not one who enjoys waiting. Combined with my genetic predisposition to arrive early for appointments, I find myself regularly in situations that I must endure if I can't find a way to enjoy. I am in a waiting season at the present time. I enjoy the extended devotion and prayer times that this season has afforded, but I am someone who needs to know what I am supposed to be doing. I am also a man, and as such, form much of my feelings of self-worth by what I do. I don't like not having a ready answer when I meet someone new and they ask me what I do. I can get a chuckle from some by saying, "out of work preacher", but that doesn't really cut it in most instances. I know that my complaint is shallow and that my identity is formed in my relationship with Christ, not by the organization name on my business card. But realities being what they are, I am ready to find out what is in store for me, whatever or wherever it is. But until I get clarity, I choose to pursue trust. I trust that none of the experiences of my life which have combined to bring me to this time and place are wasted experiences. I trust that God has prepared good works in advance that I am just now ready to do. I trust that He who began a good work in me will be faithful to complete it until the day of Christ's return. And I trust that when I know my next assignment, He will lead me and give me wisdom to do all that he calls me to do. That's plenty for now. But I still don't like waiting.