On Thursday evening, we had some friends over to celebrate our one-year anniversary in Wales and also to plan out our events for the upcoming year.  I decided to make my vegetable beef soup in the crockpot even though that was the meal I prepared for them the last time they were over.  They enjoyed it enough the previous time that they had asked for the recipe.

As we enjoyed the hot soup Thursday, our friends confessed that they had tried to replicate it themselves, but theirs wasn’t as good.  I told them the lesson my dad had taught me long ago.  When making soups or chilis, the secret ingredient is time.  Yes, the ingredients are cooked through and technically “ready” to eat within a few hours.  But it takes time for all the flavors to meld together and make the soup, stew, or chili truly delicious.  So, I put everything together for soup first thing in the morning and let it cook in the slow cooker all day long.  I’m talking 8 to 12 hours.  And the results are well worth the wait (despite the many rumblings of my tummy).

Often in life, we forget about the “souper” secret ingredient—time.  We’re in such a rush these days.  So many things to do and places to go.  We’re stretched to our limits and have become accustomed to instant gratification.  Fast food.  On-the-go meals.  Self-checkout.  Instant transfers.  We’ve grown so used to having our own way on our own schedule that we fall to pieces when we have to wait, especially when we don’t understand the wait.

We want to heal from our illness or disease, and we want it now, but God makes us wait.  We long to get a particular ministry or service up and running, but God has us in a holding pattern.  We’re chomping at the bit to take the next step, make the next introduction, or buy the next property, but God says, “Not yet.”  It’s so frustrating.  Infuriating, even.  We could understand God delaying our requests if we were asking for selfish reasons or fleshly desires.  But, when we’re asking for good things to help grow His kingdom and bring Him glory, why does He still make us wait?

Perhaps, He is not only the author of our salvation but also the author of the “souper” secret ingredient—time.  He knows that it takes time to make things come together in the best way.  Yes, we could rush it, and things might turn out okay, but if we wait for God’s timing, they could turn out far better than okay.  They could be great!  Good things take time.  They can’t be rushed.  If we want the best results possible, we have to be willing to wait for them, even when our spiritual tummies are rumbling.

God has great things in store for us, but we must trust that His timing is best.  No, we won’t always understand or agree, but that’s what faith is all about—trusting in what we can’t see or make sense of.  God is good, and He does good.  Let’s trust in God and wait on Him, for that, my friends, is the real recipe for success!