| Isaiah 40:30 – “Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall, but those who wait for the LORD will renew their strength.” |
I’ve never been good at waiting.
Scratch that. I’m terrible at waiting. Patience has yet to be made perfect in my life. “Not yet” are two words that I prefer to be permanently banished.
My mom says that the worst mistake she ever made was teaching me to tell time. I can’t say she’s wrong. Once I learned what the hands on the clock meant, I became a “if you aren’t fifteen minutes early, you’re late” kind of guy. I’ve even been known to beat greenskeepers to the golf course in the early morning.
So, imagine my disappointment to continually note that “waiting” is a trademark spiritual discipline. When we read Scripture, we can’t miss it. The practice runs from Genesis to Revelation. From bold prophets of old predicting the coming of a Messiah to today’s church longing for His glorious return, we regularly find ourselves in a holy holding pattern.
The ESV says “wait.” Your Bible might say “hope.” These words are used interchangeably in the Old Testament. Even so, may I offer a different perception of “wait for the Lord?”
What if we perceived “wait” as more of an action than a process? More like a “waiter” at a restaurant than a frustrated driver waiting at the DMV?
What does a “waiter” do for dinner guests? He fills and refills glasses. He carries the food from the kitchen to the table once it’s perfectly prepared. He routinely “checks in.” All in all, a waiter attends to guests’ desires to provide a great dining experience.
I recognize this was not Isaiah’s original intent when he penned “wait for the LORD” (some 700 years before Christ), but this metaphor has always helped me.
In seasons of waiting for God, one of the best ways to pass the time is to wait on God; to serve Him as “waiters” in His kingdom.
When we get busy accomplishing God’s agenda, our concerns don’t disappear, but they often diminish. We plug into godly good as we embrace the Maker’s mission.
I still don’t enjoy “waiting,” but “waiting on” really helps “waiting for.”
It’s worth the wait.
- Jacob Hawk
