There is a lot of waiting in our world right now. Waiting…why is it both so frustrating during the waiting and also rewarding when the waiting is over? Especially now, during a world-wide pandemic, the waiting for things to return to normal seems so long and unknown. Frustrating because we live in a world of “I want it now.” A world where you can get what you want delivered the next day (like Amazon Prime). Even in a few minutes with food delivery (like DoorDash), or instantly with Netflix. We are ok waiting minutes, hours, or even a few days for something we really want. But…weeks, months, years—that is hard. We are not used to waiting that long.Waiting is rewarding? Haven’t you felt the exhilaration when you have waited such a long time for something, and it is finally here? Saving your dollars for something really big and the day finally comes when you are able to buy it. Years of saving for that special vacation on your bucket list, and you are able to pull it off, and then bask in the memories of that trip years later.
So, here is the question that comes to mind: Is there good that comes out of the waiting? From a biblical perspective, the answer is a resounding YES. It would be too long to cover every aspect in the bible where Waiting and Strength seem to go together. Isaiah 40:31 is a good place to start:
Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength.
And Psalm 27:14:
Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.
What is it about waiting that develops strength? I think it builds strength, in part, because waiting moves us away from self-reliance and toward dependence on God. Our waiting on God is not an unknown waiting, like the situation we are in right now. Yes, it does involve the passage of time. But it is a waiting with expectation, as the psalmist tells us in Psalm 130: 5-6:
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.
The psalmist compares waiting expectantly on the Lord to the night guards of the city who watched the passage of time in anticipation of the coming dawn when they would be released from duty. The sunrise, the coming of dawn, is a certainty, but it does involve the passage of time, waiting.
Someone once told me, “At the beginning of the test faith is challenged. At the end of the test faith is rewarded. But in the middle of the test faith is strengthened.” There is that word again—strength. I love the way The Message version puts it in James 1:2-5 (The Message version):
Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don’t try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. If you don’t know what you’re doing, pray to the Father. He loves to help. You’ll get his help, and won’t be condescended to when you ask for it. Ask boldly, believingly, without a second thought.
We all want the pandemic and the stay-at-home orders to end. The sooner the better. In this situation, and any situation of waiting, be careful about getting out of something too early, before it has done its full work of maturity in you. Maybe that waiting is there to grow something in you, to prepare you for some other difficult situation, and so you can experience the reward of perseverance, of waiting. I love the song, Take Courage, by Kristene DiMarco that came out a few years ago. Here is just the chorus of that song:
Take courage my heart
Stay steadfast my soul
He's in the waiting
He's in the waiting
Listen to the full song here: Take Courage. He’s in the waiting. Hold onto your hope—the reward of your waiting is coming.
Amazed by His Love,
Terence
