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Choose to Wait

I can’t think of anyone who enjoys waiting and I can think of a lot who don’t. Some are so negatively disposed to waiting that doing so puts them into something akin to a rage. Waiting reminds us that, at least for the moment, someone else is controlling our time; someone else is keeping us from doing what matters to us; someone else is more important than we are.

As we survey the opportunities to make good choices, this is among the most difficult. I believe it goes against the grain of our humanity because the one thing we all run out of is time. Time spent waiting is usually considered wasted. Yet, God’s people have been encouraged to wait on Him and sometimes, even to wait on others. Clearly God does not consider the time we spend waiting on Him to be wasted. He even lists some benefits that come from waiting.

Here are a few examples: God strengthens the heart of those who wait on Him. (Psalm 27:14) Those who wait on the LORD shall inherit the earth. (Ps 37:9) God promises to exalt those who wait on Him. (Psalm 37:34) Perhaps the most encouraging passage related to this is Isaiah 40:31, where we read that “those who wait on 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.”

God has no shortage of time. When He finally brings a close to earth’s history, He will not look back with regret for what He might have accomplished if only He’d had more time. He will have done everything He intended to do. To the degree we are able to align our goals with God’s, we will free ourselves from the tyranny of tasks unfinished.

As you might expect, in the Old Testament, waiting on the Lord was heavily related to the inheritance of the promised land and the strength necessary to occupy and enjoy it. In the New Testament the concept has a different focus. The majority of passages encouraging Christians to wait on the Lord have to do with our spiritual inheritance. We are encouraged to wait for the Lord’s return and our enjoyment of His presence in eternity future. Many of the references to our waiting for this amplify the idea with two particular additional concepts. Listen for the ideas of “eagerness” and “patience” in these quotations:

Romans 8:23-25 “... we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” (NIV)

1Corinthians 1:7 “Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed.” (NIV)

Philippians 3:20-21 “... our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Saviour from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body.” (NIV)

1Thessalonians 1:10 “... you turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God, and to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead – Jesus, who rescues us from the coming wrath.” (NIV)

James 5:7-8 “Be patient, then, brothers, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop and how patient he is for the autumn and spring rains. You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” (NIV)

Like all of the things in this series, there is an element of choosing in the matter of waiting on the Lord, but there is also an sense in which this is a command. There are blessings to be enjoyed in making the right choice, and sorrows to be suffered for making the wrong choice.

Waiting for “the blessed hope and glorious appearing of our great God and Savior Jesus Christ” (Titus 2:13 NKJV) lifts our eyes from the often rather depressing scene in the world around us and helps us to focus our attention on things above.

I have pretty well settled into the view that the most miserable people on earth are not those who are indulging in every sinful thought, word and action they can imagine. Those who fall into the “most miserable” category are those who call themselves Christians and live only half-heartedly for Him. They are almost as selfish and hard-hearted, even outright sinful, as those who despise the Lord, but they can’t enjoy themselves because of the Spirit-sponsored sense of sin. They can’t delight in fellowship with God and His people because they don’t feel at ease in that context. But they can’t revel in their sinful selfish ways because of the prick of conscience.

Choosing to wait on the Lord sets us free in marvellous ways to enter into deeper levels of spiritual reality. It requires faith. Things may appear to be falling apart around us, but waiting on the Lord to change us, our circumstances or even other people, allows us to carry on with joy. We can bury the self-pity, the anger, the mistrust and hatred - all the negative emotions and attitudes which accompany unbelief.

Patiently trusting in God to act, sets us free from the frantic rushing from place to place, project to project, person to person trying to make things work out for our benefit. After all, “we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Romans 8:28)

Ron Hughes
© June 2009