Wait for it

1 a: to remain stationary in readiness or expectation
2 a: to look forward expectantly


We have been waiting for a long time. Tuning into daily news sends a sense of apprehension through me. We are waiting for good news on the war. We are waiting for some relief in global warming. We are waiting in anticipation for the fighting to end in the Middle East, especially Israel.

We wait to hear a newscast that does not include child abductions, child rape or child pornography. We wait to read a newspaper that does not include murder-suicide, or how high the murder rate is climbing in the city.

I apparently made a big mistake when I became a Christian. I prayed for patience, because I knew I needed it. Well, I was told the only way to develop patience was to be tried and tested.

“We continue to shout our praise even when we’re hemmed in with troubles, because we know how troubles can develop passionate patience in us, and how that patience in turn forges the tempered steel of virtue, keeping us alert for whatever God will do next. In alert expectancy such as this, we are never left feeling shortchanged. Quite the contrary-we can’t round up enough containers to hold everything God generously pours into our lives through the Holy Spirit.” Romans 5.3-5

Surprise: we all are tried and tested. That’s the way the earth is right now. Whether it’s feeling like our hands are tied, not able to help all the people who need helping, or thinking that there is simply no hope for the world at all.

It is easy to become a fatalist in today’s age. There seems to be one catastrophe after another, with no way to stop them. What is God waiting for?

“With God, one day is as good as a thousand years, a thousand years as a day. God isn’t late with his promise as some measure lateness. He is restraining himself on account of you, holding back the End because he doesn’t want anyone lost. He’s giving everyone space and time to change.” 2 Peter 3.8-9

See, I cannot give a good explanation why bad things happen. I know the basic answer, “His ways are not our ways,” and “Everything happens for a reason,” but I cannot even begin to comprehend God’s workings on this earth.

So, the only thing left to do is wait for the end. Define ‘end’ for yourself. But that’s where the mistake comes into play. That causes apathy. The definitions for wait listed above are examples of active waiting. Not just us waiting, in tears, not knowing what to do. But active waiting, knowing that no matter what things look like, God is indeed in control.

How do I know, you ask? Well, in my life I have seen His hand working through my situations. When I was a drug addict roaming the streets in the middle of the night. When I was determined to leave my husband and children for a ‘better life.’ God was the only One able to stop the crash course my life was one. I believe that with my whole being. When I thought things were hopeless, He saw the redemption on the other side.

And so, now I know the truth. And I can practice active waiting too. Things may seem bleak on a day-to-day basis, but I know that God has much to reveal to the world that will make these days pale in comparison. Check out what Paul says. It’s kind of long, but definitely worth the read.

“That’s why I don’t think there’s any comparison between the present hard times and the coming good times. The created world itself can hardly wait for what’s coming next. Everything in creation is being more or less held back. God reins it in until both creation and all the creatures are ready and can be released at the same moment into the glorious times ahead. Meanwhile, the joyful anticipation deepens.
“All around us we observe a pregnant creation. The difficult times of pain throughout the world are simply birth pangs. But it’s not only around us; it’s within us. The Spirit of God is arousing us within. We’re also feeling the birth pangs. These sterile and barren bodies of ours are yearning for full deliverance. That is why waiting does not diminish us, any more than waiting diminishes a pregnant mother. We are enlarged in the waiting. We, of course, don’t see what is enlarging us. But the longer we wait, the larger we become, and the more joyful our expectancy.
“Meanwhile, the moment we get tired in the waiting, God’s Spirit is right alongside helping us along. If we don’t know how or what to pray, it doesn’t matter. He does our praying in and for us, making prayer out of our wordless sighs, our aching groans. He knows us far better than we know ourselves, knows our pregnant condition, and keeps us present before God. That’s why we can be so sure that every detail in our lives of love for God is worked into something good.” Romans 8.18-28

And that my friends, is a promise I can cling to.