We struggle with anticipation: enduring school because we want a diploma, longing to get married, staying in a lousy job until a better one comes, expecting a career to take off, anticipating children and grandchildren. These times test our patience and perseverance.
What do you long for God to do? I bet you’ve grown weary with masks and staying at home. Amid my wait for the coronavirus to go away, I did a little history research on the Spanish Flu of 1918. I felt like I was reading today’s headlines; a hundred years ago, the arguments over masks or no masks raged. Here’s the encouragement from history: the pandemic ended. All trials do, but that doesn’t make testing easier. I once believed waiting never gets easy—that it’s the most challenging part of the Christian life—until I discovered three principles that encourage me to abide well.
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.”
Psalm 37:7-8 esv
The Lord encourages us not only to anticipate Him but to rest in Him. Even when we see no evidence that God is at work—He is. When we see others enjoying whatever we’re longing for, we get frustrated, even envious. This natural, albeit sinful, tendency hurts us. God wants us to experience peace—not anxiety. God gives good things to His children at the perfect time. If we don’t have it yet, it’s because God knows we aren’t ready. Until we believe God is enough, nothing else will satisfy us.
“Have you not known? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength.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 40:28-31esv
How often do we exhaust ourselves striving for what we desire? Sometimes we even let lesser things satisfy our longing—like the Christian woman who longs for a husband, compromises, and marries an unbeliever. Eagles aren’t hummingbirds; they do not flurry in haste to hover over simple sugar. Their strength depends on the protein of the meat. Eagles hunt from high in the sky. They must soar; to do that, Eagles seek a power greater than their own—the wind. Eagles let the greater power of air currents carry them higher than they could rise on their strength.
We need to renew our minds to the reality that we have limits. We must learn to rely on the Holy Spirit to be the wind beneath our wings. We need humility to embrace our limitations and trust God’s unlimited power to accomplish His will. Often our willingness to compromise leads us into sin. We forfeit the abundance God intends for us to enjoy later. God calls us to good works. He devises lofty dreams and fills hearts with good desires. He calls us to tasks we cannot do on our own, not for our glory, but because He is glorious. In our waiting, let’s renew our strength. Don’t settle for satan’s sweet lies. Feed on Biblical meat. Keep His word. Renew your resolve to mount up and search for God’s best.
“For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven: . . .He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end.” Ecclesiastes 3:1, 11 esv
Ticking clocks remind us of deadlines that seem impossible; we fret about the lack of progress. Struggling to unlock the front door robs us of seeing God sliding the patio door open behind us. We want our way more than we want God’s direction. Driven by the desire to make something happen, we miss God’s provision and make a mess of things. However, if we faithfully watch for His hand and follow His plan, things unfold with eternal beauty.
According to Scripture, God, who created time, calls us to look beyond our days and remember the bigger picture; His timing is perfect. He remains outside of time unaltered by its passing. In the wait, get your eyes off the clock and watch the eternal present. What good can I do today to prepare for the Day—the Day of His coming? The practice of being present keeps our eyes off the whens and what-ifs of life. Watching what God does today equips us to walk with Him tomorrow. If we remember He’s coming again, then He will find us watching and abiding when the ultimate expectation arrives.
“Behold, I am coming soon,
bringing my recompense with me, to repay each one for what he has done.”
Revelation 22:12 esv
Even so, come, Lord Jesus, come!
