Most people my age and younger have absolutely no patience. We like INSTANT gratification. I recently came across some information and wanted to share it with you. There’s a plant called the Chinese bamboo tree. If you’re a patient person, this is the plant for you. Let me explain. The seed for the Chinese bamboo tree has to be planted in a specific type of soil. Once this is done you can begin watering and fertilizing it–thus the process begins. The next day you water it, and the next, and the next. Seems simple, right? Good!!! Get comfortable, folks. You must tend to and water this plant for nearly five years before you will ever see the slightest growth. That’s right…..FIVE YEARS!! For five years you get absolutely nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. Then something amazing happens. At some point during its fifth year, no doubt way past the point of hope it will ever grow, you see a small glimmer of hope. A small green stem sprouts up. Cue the music….time for the happy dance!! Get this, within five to six weeks this plant will have grown anywhere from seventy five to ninety feet in height! Five years of nothing and then….WHAM…….almost overnight, this plant grows to nearly ninety feet. You could literally watch it grow right before your eyes. Seems impossible, but it’s true.

There are a few great lessons to be learned here. 1. Just because you can’t see God working in your situation doesn’t mean He’s not there. He said He would “work all things for the good” but never promised your answer would come overnight. If God promised it, it will come to pass but it’s highly probable it won’t happen on YOUR time table. 2. There are lessons to be learned during your waiting season. Maybe you feel like you’ll never see change or growth but sometimes it’s necessary to, “Wait on the Lord and be of good courage and He will strengthen your heart. Wait, I say, on the Lord.” [Ps. 27:14] Coincidence the author instructs us twice to ‘wait’? Probably not. No doubt you’re being taught patience, trusting in the process, and the necessity of faith to believe “it” (whatever your “it” is) will come to pass. 3. You must bloom where you are planted. We live in a society that encourages constant change. If you don’t like the way things are going, find something else that makes you happy. You wouldn’t take a cake out of the oven before it is ready so why uproot yourself because the pastor didn’t shake your hand or you don’t like the color of the carpet? Find the church God has for you and allow yourself to grow roots and establish a foundation. Transplanting the Chinese bamboo could slow or even stop the growth process prematurely. The same can be said of God’s promises in your life. 4. Faithfulness to the process is a necessity to experience growth or change. If the growers of the Chinese bamboo tree give up after four years they will never experience the pending growth that will come sometime in the next year. There is a process of growth that must take place for you to be able to wisely handle the blessings that will, no doubt, come your way. Your focus should be LESS on the promise and MORE on the process you undergo getting to your promise. Ask yourself, what is God teaching me during my waiting season?

If God promised it, it will happen. But you must remain faithful during your waiting period–no matter how long that may be. His word will NOT return void.