Waiting on God
Have you ever tried kombucha? It’s this fermented tea that’s rich in probiotics and tastes really good.
Back when I was having terrible stomach issues, my doctor had recommended I take probiotics to help get good gut bacteria in my system. I started off by taking a pill to help my stomach out, but I also discovered kombucha. Little did I know, I was about to become a kombucha fanatic.
I've tried nearly every flavor and (mostly) every brand. It's good stuff!
While trying to troubleshoot my stomach with probiotics, I grew to like kombucha and thought to myself, ”I’d drink this even if I wasn’t feeling terrible!”
The downside is that it’s not cheap. Upside: I’ve educated myself how to make this tea.
The big component of what turns the tea into a fermented, probiotic drink is what’s called the SCOBY or Symbiotic Culture of Bacteria and Yeast. The SCOBY is a living organism that is placed into the tea and begins feeding off the sugar in the tea. As it feeds, it releases CO2 and begins turning the tea into a sour/vinegar-ish tea that kombucha lovers have come to know.
The thing about making kombucha is it's a waiting game. The process for the SCOBY to transform the tea can take anywhere from a week to three weeks, depending on the preference of taste and temperature of your room.
That’s a long time when you’re used to walking into the grocery store whenever you want and grabbing a bottle off the shelf!
When it comes to waiting on God, it’s not much different. We are people of the “now” culture. We have learned to be people who do online shopping in seconds, watch entire seasons of television shows in one day, and brew 1-minute coffee with the push of a button.
We are people of the instant and when we let our culture and lifestyle dictate our time, it’s hard to submit to a God who works in the waiting.
Though we live fast-paced and at breakneck speed, sliding down our gCal day after day, there is a lesson to be learned:
Jesus worked in the waiting.
True, there were moments where someone’s life was changed on the spot when Jesus encountered them, but most of the miracles Jesus worked took a little more time. Even when he was aware of a close friend who was terminally ill, Jesus still chose to wait three days (resulting in the friend’s death) to work a miracle (bringing him back to life). There was a purpose in the waiting that was revealed to Mary and Martha (see John 11:4)
Waiting can be joyous and it can feel like a punishment. Ask any expectant mother and father what waiting feels like, and then ask a close friend who has a terminal disease what waiting feels like.
For me, waiting feels like the weight of anxiety has been placed on me. I like to know things well in advance because I’m a planner. But God doesn’t always let me in on what His plans are--not because He is mad at me but because there’s often a lesson in the waiting. Will I trust Him when nothing is moving and I want it to move? Will I look to Him when my day-to-day living depends on Him?
Slowly, I am beginning to trust Him in this. There are examples of those we can read about in the Bible who knew the value of waiting. They saw waiting not just as a dormant time to pass, but active participation in what God was busy doing behind the scenes.
In his book, Discernment, Henri Nouwen had this to say about waiting,
“Waiting as a disciple of Jesus is not empty waiting. It is waiting for the promise hidden in our hearts, which makes present what we are waiting for. In fact, Christians have built-in waiting times throughout the church year. During the season of Advent, we are waiting for the birth of Jesus, manifested in the world and in our hearts during Epiphany. During Lent, we wait in the desert of solitude for new life to be revealed. We wait after Easter for the coming of the Spirit at Pentecost, and after the ascension of Jesus, we wait for his coming again. We are always waiting, but it is waiting with the conviction that we have already heard God’s promises and seen God’s footsteps in Jesus.”
I’ve come to the end of my first-ever home-brew kombucha. The SCOBY did its work and made my tea a delicious beverage. Instead of the 12 days like I thought, I had to wait 15 days for it to happen, but I can say that it was worth it.
Some things are best enjoyed after the waiting.
