Photo by Ryunosuke Kikuno on Unsplash
The Waiting Game
Advent (from a Latin word for “coming”) is a season of waiting and anticipation. This Christmas we will, like we do every December, remember the first coming of God to planet Earth. But as soon as we box up our manger scenes and flip the calendar, our anticipation will shift to the second coming of God to planet Earth—which, considering the unravelling of our globe, seems long overdue! Christians are not strangers to waiting.
“Waiting is our destiny. As creatures who cannot by themselves bring about what they hope for, we wait in darkness for a flame we cannot light. We wait in fear for a happy ending that we cannot write. We wait for a “not yet” that feels like a “not ever.” – Lewis Smedes
You know, we don’t usually hope for what we already have—we hope for what we do not have. That is why waiting, when you really think about it, is the hardest work of hope—hope for peace, justice, joy, satisfaction and the return of One who will set all things right once and for all.
Waiting and hope are twin themes in the Bible. It is almost like waiting is a spiritual discipline in that there appears to be some redeeming factor in the waiting itself and not merely the arriving at, or experiencing of a desired outcome. The Bible tells us what to hope for but it rarely provides a timeline which is frustrating for those who like closure.
”Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.”
Psalm 27:14 (NLT)
“Be still in the presence of the Lord and wait patiently for him to act.”
Psalm 37:7 (NLT)
God’s promises are usually preceded by the waiting. God told Israel that they’d be a nation, escape slavery and be independent; but they had to wait 400 years. God told Moses he would lead the people to the Promised Land, but they had to go through the wilderness and wait 40 years. God told a 75 year old Abraham he would be a father but he had to wait another 24 years!
Then there is the big one—the promise of a Messiah, who will one day bring peace on Earth and deliver people from their sins. In fact, the entire Old Testament fronts toward this one promise—the advent, the coming of Jesus Christ. It was this blessed hope that kept them going. And finally, in the fullness of time and centuries of anticipation, the Messiah arrived, only to leave 33 years later, with the announcement this promise—
“Surely I am coming (again) quickly.” Amen. Even so, come, Lord Jesus!
Revelation 22:20 NKJ
Quickly? Says the One for whom one day is a thousand years. Not so much for me whose 24-hour days sometimes seem like forever and wish Christ would return today. How we long for that day that never seems to come, accepting that what God does in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for!
Paul, in Romans 8, says that our waiting is worth it because in the end it produces perseverance and perseverance produces character, and character gives birth to new hope. God is producing these qualities in us while we wait. Waiting is not just something we have to do until we get what we want. Waiting is part of the process of becoming what God want us to be. And God’s work in us while we wait is as important as what it is we are waiting for.
Henri Nouwen (in Sabbatical Journeys) had friends who were trapeze artists. They described the very special relationship between the flyer and the catcher. The flyer is the one that lets go, and the catcher is the one that catches. When the flyer is swung high above the crowd the moment comes when he must let go. He arcs out into the air, and his job is to remain as still as possible and to wait for the strong hands of the catcher to pluck him from the air. The flyer must never try to catch the catcher. The flyer must simply wait in limbo, in faith, in hope, in trust.
The catcher, Nouwen says, is God. And we are the flyers.
Will we trust God in all things? Will you trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding but in all ways acknowledge him to direct all your paths? (Proverbs 3:5-6)
God is never frantic, never panics, and never in a hurry because His perspective is eternal. Truth be told, life is short and eternity is long. If we could see through His forever eyes, then perhaps we could get a better perspective on our very short lives compared to our eternal lives! Perhaps we would slow down and trust more, hoping for what we do not see, but in faith eagerly waiting with patience and perseverance for what we know to be our blessed hope (Romans 8:24-25)—the second and final and triumphant advent of the Messiah! It will come. He promised! And so we wait; believing that …
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.
Isaiah 40:30-31 KJV
Let go. Let God. Even so, come, Lord Jesus.
Written by Senior Adults Pastor Jerry Orthner
You may also be interested in …
- Waiting for Peace, written by Miriam Charter, November 2024
- “Waiting” Series
- Senior’s & Friends
