Many situations come to mind when I think of "waiting". I wait for THINGS. Waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting at the doctor’s office, waiting in traffic, waiting at a restaurant. Waiting for a letter, or a phone call, or a guest to arrive. Waiting for the paycheck, a house to sell, a loan to be repaid. Waiting for my bread to rise, the clothes to dry, the coffee to brew. Then there is the waiting for the weekend, the holidays, the vacation time.
I wait for PEOPLE. Waiting for the perfect mate. Waiting to give birth. Waiting for the first smile, first tooth, first step, and first word. Waiting for the children to begin school. Then waiting for them to graduate. Waiting for the perfect mates for my children. Waiting for my first grandchild. Waiting for the baby to "give up" fussing and go to sleep. And on particularly hard days, waiting for her mother to come take her home!! Waiting for my husband’s homecoming at the end of the long day.
In the middle of all my busyness, I find that I have spent a lot of my time in waiting. Thankfully, I am also busy with other details of life in all of this so that...at least MOST of my wait time has not been wasted!
Although these things are common to many of us in our human "condition", there are a few other things that God tells us to wait for. These are priority to Him. I am reminded of few key passages.
The first is Psalm 27:14, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."
The second, Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
We are exhorted, even compelled to wait on the Lord. This requires faith. This is waiting with a sure reward.
Finally, we are reminded to wait for our brothers and sisters in Christ. "Wherefore, my brethren, when ye come together to eat, tarry one for another." I Corinthians 11:33 We are to give of our time to each other. Not to be in a hurry. Give the gift of ourselves. This requires sacrifice. This is where we become most like Christ.
In doing these things, we please the Father and in doing these things our "waiting" will be complete.
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