Sitting cross-legged on the tile floor, I had my my eye on a group of little boys who kept peeling off their name tags and sticking them in each others hair, only half-listening to the lesson. I looked up, however, when I heard our children's minister say, "Quiet down, everyone, I want you to hear what Lainey just said. Lainey, tell everyone what you just told me." We were learning about Abraham and the promise he received that he would one day be the father of many nations, a promise God made 25 years before Abraham's wife gave birth to their first son. Lainey, a quiet and thoughtful six year-old, waited for the class to pipe down and then repeated her comment for everyone to hear, "God could have given Abraham a son right away, but God waited because he wanted to see if Abraham would trust him."
Does it seem like you are always waiting on something? Waiting for summer break. Waiting for a family. Waiting for a door to open, a promise to be fulfilled. For me, it is tempting to doubt God during a long wait. I wonder why, when he can do anything, he does not make promised blessings materialize immediately. Lainey's wise and simple words reminded me that a long wait is intended to reveal something about my heart. Do I trust Him? "'Wait' isn't a fashionable word," Terry Virgo has said recently. "How we handle delay seriously shapes who we become."
Throughout salvation history, God's people have waited. A lot. In the writings of Old Testament prophets, we read expressions of a fervent hope for future good. But not only that, these writers express an expectation for God to help now. He is not only in our future, he is our very present help. Isaiah prays, "O Lord...we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble" (33:2 ESV). Even as we wait for God to work out his will, he will be our arm, our strength, every day. Isaiah also says, "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint" (40:31 ESV). Even as we wait for something, there is current, accessible provision. Notice how active the wait-ers are in the passage above? They are soaring, running, walking, growing in strength. Not twiddling their thumbs. Not growing disgruntled or depressed. Not losing the sparkle in their eyes or the bounce in their step.
Isaiah was waiting for the coming of Jesus and now, as His church, we wait for the second coming of Jesus. For part two of this post (coming a little later this week), we'll look at how the church is instructed to wait for the return of our King and what we can learn about the kind of fruitful, satisfying, and active wait that is possible for those who hope in God. I'm praying you will be refreshed and encouraged to find out what God intends for you to experience as you put your hope in him during whatever season of waiting you find yourself. Be sure to check back later this week!
Going green!
Lynn
Does it seem like you are always waiting on something? Waiting for summer break. Waiting for a family. Waiting for a door to open, a promise to be fulfilled. For me, it is tempting to doubt God during a long wait. I wonder why, when he can do anything, he does not make promised blessings materialize immediately. Lainey's wise and simple words reminded me that a long wait is intended to reveal something about my heart. Do I trust Him? "'Wait' isn't a fashionable word," Terry Virgo has said recently. "How we handle delay seriously shapes who we become."
Throughout salvation history, God's people have waited. A lot. In the writings of Old Testament prophets, we read expressions of a fervent hope for future good. But not only that, these writers express an expectation for God to help now. He is not only in our future, he is our very present help. Isaiah prays, "O Lord...we wait for you. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble" (33:2 ESV). Even as we wait for God to work out his will, he will be our arm, our strength, every day. Isaiah also says, "but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary;they shall walk and not faint" (40:31 ESV). Even as we wait for something, there is current, accessible provision. Notice how active the wait-ers are in the passage above? They are soaring, running, walking, growing in strength. Not twiddling their thumbs. Not growing disgruntled or depressed. Not losing the sparkle in their eyes or the bounce in their step.
Isaiah was waiting for the coming of Jesus and now, as His church, we wait for the second coming of Jesus. For part two of this post (coming a little later this week), we'll look at how the church is instructed to wait for the return of our King and what we can learn about the kind of fruitful, satisfying, and active wait that is possible for those who hope in God. I'm praying you will be refreshed and encouraged to find out what God intends for you to experience as you put your hope in him during whatever season of waiting you find yourself. Be sure to check back later this week!
Going green!
Lynn
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