Waiting for the Lord

      I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living.

      Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD. (Psalm 27:13-14)

The path I take to the church from my house passes the community roller-skating rink. I noticed a couple of weeks back they changed their reader board to simply say #STILLWAITING. There’s a lot wrapped up in that hash tag, but it has caused me to reflect on the waiting that many of us are experiencing due to COVID-19.

We have families at SFNAZ who are waiting to honor the passing of their loved ones. Others have postponed vacations, visits to distant family, and other family activities. Mission trips are postponed, and summer camps look different. Sporting events are on hold, and the list goes on. I think it is safe to say, many of us have felt like we are waiting.  Waiting for things to get back to normal.

Most of us don’t like to wait. I know I personally find myself checking the time if I’m in a drive-through line more than five minutes. We like things to happen when we want. We want it fast.

I’m convinced God’s time is different than human time, I’m not sure God even experiences time like us. Scripture affirms that what may seem to take forever to us, is like the blink of an eye to the Lord.

I need to learn how to be better at waiting. I need to be patient for God’s timing. There are so many things right now I wish I could see how it will all work out, but for now we wait. I think there is also a connection between waiting and resting. We need to be reminded that as we wait, we also get an opportunity to rest.

I can hear some of you thinking, “But Shawn I need to be active, I need to be doing something, I can’t stand sitting around.” I wonder what it would look like if we considered waiting on God an active process; that in our waiting we could perceive that God is still working.

Perhaps we need to ask God what it is that needs work in us. What is it that we need to address in this time of waiting? Perhaps, in this season we need to invite God to show us what it means for us to individually and corporately “Wait for the LORD.”

I invite you to pray with me.

Lord your timing is perfect. You’re never late, nor are you early, you’re always right on time. Help us to learn how to wait for you. We live in a time where waiting seems counterproductive. Help us to experience time through your eyes, to recognize it is okay to wait, in fact it might even be good for us. We rest in the promise that we will see your goodness in the here and now, not just in the next life. Help us to be strong and take heart as we wait on you. Amen.

Pastor Shawn