Stop Waiting for the Future

I’ve spent a lot of time waiting.

Waiting for a grade, waiting for relationships, even waiting for summer break to finally arrive.

I sometimes keep my eyes so firmly trained on what I want in the future that I miss the good things happening now. While looking forward to future relationships, I neglect my family and friends. While looking forward to summer so much, I forget to enjoy special moments during the school year.

Discontentedness with the present sucks joy from my days, and when I finally get to the things I’ve looked forward to, I always find myself wanting more.

My discontentment leaves me regretting my past priorities, upset that the present doesn’t fill my expectations, and hoping that the “next thing” might be better. And thus, the cycle goes on.

What Are You Waiting For?

You might be waiting for a boyfriend, a new season of life, or maybe just a new year. Whether you’re waiting for something big or something small, ask yourself why you want that thing so badly.

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I find that I often just want things to be perfect, and I look forward to the future because I expect it to be near-perfect. I expect my future character, experiences, and relationships to be flawless, or at least better than they are now.

I want perfection so desperately, but as I get older, I don’t find that perfection in those new relationships, seasons, or years. Instead, I find myself disappointed when my expectations aren’t met.

At this point, you might be thinking I’m a crazy person without any idea of what’s happening around me. Let me be clear: my discontentment and dreaming have been subconscious. I’ve always been a dreamer, but I have also had goals I’ve worked toward, and made a boatload of memories with friends and family. But when I get upset with the mundane parts of life and get frustrated with the present, it helps me if I assess my thinking so I can change my attitude.

I don’t think wanting perfection is entirely bad, though. Deep down inside, we all want a world that isn’t tainted by sin, and we realize that this present world isn’t everything. But we’re looking for perfection and fulfillment in all the wrong places. Instead of looking to Christ for restoration, we just hope a boyfriend will make us feel better. Instead of looking for God’s plan in the difficult seasons, we hope that the next year will be more happy. We won’t find satisfaction in these earthly things, though. We must look to the only perfect One, Jesus, to fill that longing.

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So today, start waiting for God. Want him like you want your dreams. Look for him, pray to him, and wait for him to show himself to you in his Word. Unlike the things on earth, he will never disappoint you or be anything less than perfect. Then, thank God for the present, and use every day for his glory.

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