PEA RIDGE — I am not a fan of waiting.
This most certainly says something about my need to develop patience and find myself in willful submission to the many places in Scripture that speak to this issue, not the least of which is James 1:4 that speaks to the idea of allowing things such as patience, steadfastness and endurance to do their work in us so that we might become fully mature. But, I don’t like to wait.
I have a few places where I find waiting even less enjoyable - in line at the Revenue Office (sometimes called the DMV), you know that place where you go to renew your car tags or driver’s license; in the fast food drive through line; in the doctor’s office waiting room. Did I mention I don’t like to wait in line? At Wal-mart while they check my dead battery to be sure it’s bad.
I have been convinced for some time that one of the most difficult places to wait is in the hospital. In fact, I have a theory that time operates differently in the hospital. While in the hospital as a patient, while visiting a patient, or when waiting while someone important to you is having a procedure, it seems that time simply moves slower.
Especially when you’re waiting for test results. Is it good news or is it bad?
When will the results be ready? Probably sometime today - maybe. If not, they’ll surely be ready tomorrow - maybe. Did I mention I don’t like to wait?
There are so many times in life where we find ourselves waiting - waiting for news on a job application, waiting for a loved one to return from a deployment, waiting for someone you care about to change in an important way, waiting....
When I get painfully honest about it, I’m very aware that my dislike of waiting often points to a deeper issue that I’m not excited about. It inevitably speaks to that Biblical need to allow patience to do a work in me during those times of waiting. It reminds me that ultimately, I need to keep my heart and mind focused on my God, placing my trust and expectation in Him, regardless of the time of waiting. There is this important connection between waiting and trust in God’s sovereignty;
between waiting and realizing that God is the source of my hope. Consider these verses of Scripture and join me as we wait. Just maybe God will do a work in us in line next week.
“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6 (NIV)
“Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted;
but they who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” Isaiah 40:30-31 (ESV)
“But those who wait for the Lord (who expect, look for, and hope in Him) shall change and renew their strength and power; they shall lift their wings and mount up (close to God) as eagles (mount up to the sun); they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint or become tired.” Isaiah 40:31 (AMP)◊◊◊
Editor’s note: Al Fowler is the pastor of First Baptist Church, Pea Ridge. He can be contacted at 451-8192, or by e-mail at [email protected].
Church, Pages 2 on 01/30/2013