More on Waiting

I was thinking about Biblical examples of waiting, and was surprised at how often this theme occurs in the lives of the saints of old. Here are just a few of the stories that inspire me:

Noah is one great example of the demonstration of trust in waiting. He built an ark and waited one hundred and twenty years for God to send the promised rain. Most historians and commentators agree that the earth had not received rain prior to the flood. So God’s revelation that He was going to flood the earth with water from the sky, must have been sounded far fetched. But Noah obediently prepared for this event, trusting that if God said it would happen, it surely would. When the rain finally did come, Noah and his family found themselves trapped in that ark, adrift in the floodwaters for more than a year! Each phase of his journey included waiting.

Caleb and Joshua  gave a glowing report of the promised land. Their hearts were right before God. And yet both of them were doomed to wait along with the rest of Israel for forty years in the wilderness before they could move in and possess the land, all because the other ten spies rebelled! They had argued vehemently with the people, begging them to see God’s hand and provision in giving the land of Canaan to Israel. They had openly rejected the fear of the other ten spies. Caleb and Joshua had behaved admirably in the face of intense peer pressure. They were right! But none of this meant they got to enjoy the land immediately. Instead, through no fault of their own, they were forced to endure forty years in the desert. Talk about agony in waiting. Yet, nowhere in Scripture do we find either of them complaining or growing bitter. When the forty year wait was up and everyone else their age was dead, God used them both mightily in routing the wicked nations settled in Canaan and claiming the promised land for Israel. This story is a beautiful example of God’s power unleashed in those who wait on Him.

David was anointed king and waited for years to see that promise fulfilled. In the meantime he was pursued and harassed by half-crazed King Saul, who sought to take his life. David did not have an easy wait at all, but at least he was kept busy!

One of the reasons that I have so much trouble waiting is that I fail to see the value in it. I am a person of action. I want to see things getting done. And if something difficult has to happen then let’s just get it over with. What gets done in waiting? Often, since the results of waiting are not measurable, it can seem like nothing gets done. Clearly God does not see it that way. The value in waiting is this: God reveals Himself to us in the waiting in ways we could never otherwise know Him, because it reminds us of how little control we actually have. Right now, Joel and I find waiting to be a part of our daily story. We wait for a few minutes of phone call each day. (He can call me for 10 minutes a day.) We wait for our next visit. (Usually I get to go see him about twice a month.) We wait for his eventual release. (Still about 2.4 years out.) We have little control over each of these issues. God is clearly teaching us to value the waiting. We have been given the gift of waiting…the gift of knowing God’s sufficiency in our wait.


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