REFLECTIONS

Waiting

Waiting, waiting—the agony of it. The anxious wait for cancer test results in the doctor’s office, a child on Christmas Eve anticipating the toys Santa will bring, or the test of patience for a promise to be fulfilled. Waiting is a hard to do. Even the most patient of people have trouble living in suspense of uncertainty, anxious about what tomorrow might be, or in anticipation of gifts promised.

I was the child on Christmas Eve who couldn’t sleep; I have been a waiting-room patient anxious about health test results; and I have had my patience challenged awaiting promises to be fulfilled. Insomnia, anxiety, impatience, all of these are responses in times of waiting.

Can you imagine how Job waited through the trials Satan imposed on him. Each day brought new devastation, his children were killed, his wealth stripped away, leprosy consumed his body. His friends doubted him, his wife challenged him, and his social status stripped from him. What could he do but wait. Still he stood strong, saying, “Though he slay me, yet will I hope in him;” (Job 13:15)

And then there is the promise God made to Abraham. “I will make you into a great nation.” But at 100 years-old and a barren wife beyond childbearing age, the circumstances made the promise seem unlikely. Waiting? Abraham and Sarah didn’t. Sarah gave Abraham permission to have a child by another woman. He did. Then God fulfilled his promise when Sarah gave birth to Isaac. You can read the whole story beginning with Genesis 12. But suffice it to say, the world is a mess today because Abraham didn’t wait.

Waiting. Life is built on it and with it. Waiting for a seed to burst into new life. Waiting for a wound to heal, a flower to bloom, a storm to pass. Waiting for the wedding day to come, a new job to begin, or a child to be born. Waiting is one of the greatest challenges in our lives. Yet God asks us to wait on him. And so we must.

God’s ways are not our ways, and his timing may not match ours. To God, a day is like a thousand years. But God does keep his promises. In the meantime, our emotions—excitement, anxiety, impatience—fill the time. But waiting becomes much easier when one is not alone, especially if your companion is Christ Jesus.

Waiting is God’s invitation to turn to him. With Christ Jesus at our sides, waiting can be in perfect peace.

You are the light of the world,

Richard +

www.reflectingthesavior.org.

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