By Randy Edwards
Romans 8:18-25
The passage we have just read encourages us to do something we instinctively do not like to do. Simply stated, we vehemently do not want to do what it asks us to do!
It asks us to wait.
It asks us … to wait.
It asks us … to … wait.
It … asks … us … to … … … … wait. Wait.
Let’s have a show of hands here: who really enjoys waiting for something we really want or need? Do we enjoy waiting and waiting and waiting to open birthday presents or Christmas gifts? Don’t we just love sitting around for days or weeks waiting to hear what the MRI indicates, or waiting to hear what our doctor is going to say? How about learning to save some money for the future rather than spending it all at once on something really awesome?
“Slow as Christmas” was a saying we tossed around as a child and teenager, because waiting to open Christmas gifts, particularly those already wrapped and under the tree, was very difficult to do.
Perhaps the hardest part about waiting is that we feel out of control. Being dependent upon someone else to move, to get with it, to provide what we want – it’s the fact that we are not in control that bothers us the most!
We’ve all heard it said that good things come to those who wait. Those of us who have lived long enough know that this is true.
But let’s not make the mistake of thinking there’s nothing we can do while we wait. What can we do? There are several creative things we can do in the wait.
We can hope. We can turn our eyes toward the coming Savior and place all our hope in Jesus; after all, that’s where it should be.
We can pray. We can cast all our cares upon God, because scripture assures us that God cares for us. We can pray for one another with the full hope that God will take care of us in God’s own time.
We can watch. Jesus referred to this many time – seeking the hand of God, straining to hear the voice of God, longing to feel the touch of God.
May our waiting be rich. May our finding be profound. May our living be celebration.