God's Waiting Room

On waiting, resisting pressure, and trusting that God still brings the best at the right time

I got the best bus.

I had just got off work, and my workday routine involved taking a bus to Obalende to catch a BRT directly to Iyana Ipaja. Some days are good; we see a lot of buses and the queue moves fast, while some days can be terrible. Today was one of those near-terrible days.

I didn’t particularly leave the office on time, but I got to the terminal a few minutes past seven PM, if I remember correctly. On a good day, I should board a bus within 20–30 minutes max, but I had spent about one hour already, and in that space were a series of silent prayers to God to send two more buses.

Whenever there is a dearth of buses like today, corruption becomes the order of the day. This is because the Obalende to Abule-Egba route, which connects to Iyana Ipaja, has the longest queue. My position in the queue was at the tail end, but I reckoned two buses should be able to contain everyone, given the capacity of the buses. I forgot to factor bribery and corruption into the equation.

God indeed answered prayers, and buses came, but what we expected to be an empty bus already had almost half of its capacity filled. I wasn’t particularly paying attention to the buses, but I heard other queuing passengers complain about this.

I had earlier prayed to God to send two buses. The first came with people in it; others at the front of the line joined, and it got filled. Then they started calling for standing, that is, passengers willing to board the bus but stand all through the trip.

A lady who was not in the queue, but had friends in the queue, started beckoning to her friends and told them to follow the full bus. She alleged that it was the last bus. Obviously, she must have heard it from someone, and not willing to face the hassle of boarding the popular “danfo” buses with significantly higher costs, she was willing to go with the full bus and stand all through the way to her destination.

I was tempted in a way to follow them. I have had experiences where it was indeed the last bus, and I didn’t follow it. I had to use the danfo buses at almost double the fare I would have paid if I had followed the BRT.

But somehow, somewhere, I asked myself, Where is your faith? Didn’t you pray to God for two buses? Wait for the second bus.

So I waited.

The second bus came after some time, but it was disorderly, and it seemed some people had occupied the bus before it came to the queuing point. Long story short, I did not enter that bus. I was not even close to entering it from the queue.

What if this were the last bus?

I found myself asking God, Lord, should I follow this bus?

I got no answer, but I also got no leading to follow that bus.

While the bus was still waiting, some people in the queue joined it and stood since there was no seating space. They likely thought that was the last bus. The thing about these buses is that once you tap to pay with your card, you cannot leave that bus unless you are willing to pay again on another bus.

While I continued looking and asking God, we saw a clean, larger-capacity bus with leather cushioned seats and headrests heading in our direction.

This is the best of the buses the government assigned to the Obalende–Abule Egba route, and it is always my desire to enter that bus when it gets to my turn. Most of the time, I enter the comparatively rickety buses, but I thank God still; the most important thing is that I get to my destination.

So we stood and watched the bus approach us. Its presence meant the filled bus had to leave, and I could not have been more thankful to God. I’m sure others in the queue felt relieved and happy too.

I mustered a prayer of thanksgiving to God and boarded the bus.

Lord, I asked for two, but You kept sending buses until one got to us at the tail end of the queue.

Many people who weren’t patient, or probably had no faith, believed an evil report and followed a bus where, instead of resting to their destination, they would stand all through with pain in their legs.

Looking back, I see the essence of patience, trust, hope, and faith in the Lord.

You prayed? Believe that God will answer your prayers. Even if you don’t get the answer you desired, God is still faithful, and He deserves to be praised and glorified.

For me, what I take from this is to hold on to God for every desire I have. Just like I felt pressured to jump ship into an already full bus that would only add to my stress, I chose to wait on God because I know He always answers prayers.

Many of us may be feeling similar pressures in different areas of our lives.

Get married; you’re not getting younger.

Time is passing; why not take the one who is showing interest now? You may not get another man to come your way.

Even when you know that if you jump into that ship, instead of resting, you’ll only get stress.

God’s time is the best, and He brought the best bus at a time when the terminal ought to have been closed.

I’m here, seated by the window seat, looking outside with a grateful heart as I type this.

May the Lord grant us His grace to wait on Him for everything.

God’s time is the best.

Arsenal Football Club is proof of it. I am proof of it. You are also proof of it. Only let us wait on Him.

He that shall come will come, though He tarries.

While all these experiences are on the earth and will end on earth, there is one waiting that we must all do, and that is waiting for the second coming of the Lord.

Jesus is coming again for His church, for those who genuinely came to Him in repentance and have asked for His forgiveness; for those who, after receiving pardon for their sins, continued in the way of the Lord by loving Him and keeping His commandments.

He is not coming for carnal sinners; He is coming for the saints. And we can become saints by acknowledging our need for Him in our lives, confessing our sins to Him in prayer, asking for His forgiveness, and turning our backs completely on our former sinful lifestyle.

Then we can patiently wait for His second coming, when He comes and raptures His followers.

That wait can end tonight, tomorrow, or may exceed our lifespan, but one thing is certain:

He will surely come.

And He is the best Man ever.

Accept Him as your Lord and God today.

God bless you.