Waiting

I’ve been doing a lot of waiting lately.

There’s been a lot of waiting on hold on the phone. Waiting for replies to emails, voicemails, faxes, other messages. Waiting in waiting rooms. Waiting for test results. Waiting for the great idea I need to complete (OK, start) a project. Waiting for time to work on that project. Waiting, of course, for three small children to be ready to leave the house… on time, if we’re lucky.

Probably you’ve been waiting a lot lately too. It happens to all of us. It’s like a cycle in our lives. We hurry. We wait. We hurry. We wait. And I’ve realized, at least for now, that waiting can make you patient. It can make you strong. Or it can make you crazy.
Could be all three, actually.

And then I read in scripture that we’re supposed to wait on God too. Usually, fortunately, I find that waiting on God makes me stronger, more patient. After all, if it’s something I can’t do or answer myself, then resting in His strength and wisdom and timing is a pretty great solace. Sometimes, though, doesn’t it make you a little crazy? Admit it. We’re used to instant gratification, instant answers. And we’re pretty comfortable with that. Waiting, even if it’s waiting on God, is not instantly gratifying. It’s just… waiting.

But there’s a catch. (Isn’t that always the case?) A silver lining, if you will. Think back to when God gave Moses the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20). In Ephesians 6:2, Paul talks about the whole “honor your father a mother” command as being the first command with a promise: “so that you may live long in the land the Lord your God is giving you.” God told the Israelites something to do, and then dangled some bait in front of them to make it worth their while to obey.

OK, confession: I do this all the time with my kids. Bribery is alive and well in our household. Let’s just call it our attempt at being godly parents, shall we? But it works! And I know you know why: there’s a payoff. There’s incentive. There’s a reason to comply that goes beyond those four evil words: “because I said so”. Something better is coming!

Isaiah 40:31 talks about the something better that comes from waiting on God. “Those who hope in (wait on) the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Notice that this makes no promise about our renewed strength being sufficient to eliminate the problem, but that God’s gift of strength will allow us to endure whatever is going on. So, sorry to say, your waiting will continue…

But then there are WINGS! There’s the promise of seeing God’s strength, which is way bigger than ours. There’s the image of enduring and overcoming and power and freedom. And I really think that, as the scale in this verse goes from larger to smaller (soaring to running to walking), it should probably include something like, “they will crawl and not pass out.” Because sometimes, if you’re honest, you’re so sick and tired of waiting and wondering that you feel like you can’t even stand up.

But you can. You will stand. You will walk. You will run. You will fly. You will be stronger. You will say a prayer of thanks to God. And soon enough you’ll find a new reason you’re waiting on God. And don’t worry, we’ll understand if you go a little crazy in the process.

Kathy Raines, UBC College Minister, ...waiting for an idea or suggestion of some clever descriptor to put here