Still Sitting on the Bench

I am a basketball fan. If you are a fan like me, you may have noticed that even though there is a long list of players chosen for the team, many of them can go through an entire season and not play a single game. Although chosen, they still find themselves sitting on the bench. Have you ever been to a point where God placed a call on your life, but you found yourself still waiting for the vision to become a reality? As in the game of basketball, you might have wondered, “If I have been chosen, why am I still sitting on the bench?” That is a question I have asked myself many times during my Christian experience.

A few years before the COVID-19 pandemic, I felt God call me to go more fully into my online ministry. Yet it seemed that even as I continued to lean on Him to help me advance, I faced obstacle after obstacle. Instead of doors opening for me, doors began to close one after another. The networks I was counting on failed me.

Gatekeepers who could mention my name in the room moved on or were fired. I was left in the waiting zone. And the truth is, I felt discouraged.

I am not a very patient waiter. However, as I reflect on the many years of my ongoing walk with God, if there is one theme that has remained consistent, it is this—waiting. When we read about the lives of many great men and women of faith in the Bible, we see that they, too, were held in waiting patterns with God. What is more, just like us, they were challenged to wait with patience. Abraham waited twenty-five years for the promised son, Isaac.

Joseph waited many years through difficult life circumstances until the dream he’d had in childhood of being placed in a position of authority was realized.

And Hannah spent many childless years praying like crazy for the longed-for son. All these stories have one thing in common.

Regardless of how long or challenging the waiting period was, God was faithful to complete what He had started. Is there any reason to doubt that He can and will do the same for you and me?

Kathy-Ann C. Hernandez