What Are You Waiting For?

Last Friday my husband and I spent a long morning in the ER after he had a little health scare. When a person has chest pain they waste no time! But when they discover that it’s really nothing you are suddenly forgotten. Seriously. We thought they forgot about us. Four hours later we were released and all is well. But waiting is hard, isn’t it? Here is an excerpt from Dr. Suess’ well-known book Oh, The Places You’ll Go. It’s titled “The Waiting Place”.

Waiting for a train to go or a bus to come,
or a plane to go or the mail to come,
or the rain to go or the phone to ring,
or the snow to snow or waiting around for a Yes or No
or waiting for their hair to grow.

Everyone is just waiting.

Waiting for the fish to bite
or waiting for wind to fly a kite
or waiting around for Friday night

or waiting, perhaps, for their Uncle Jake
or a pot to boil, or a Better Break
or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants
or a wig with curls, or Another Chance.

Everyone is just waiting.

I’ve been considering the value of waiting over the last few years–ever since I glanced up at a wall hanging that had that familiar verse on it from Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength…” And it hit me. It’s in the WAIT that I grow strong. Psalm 27:14 speaks to this as well: “Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.” And waiting not only can strengthen us but it is what brings us hope. Think about it. In Suess’ poem above, each of those “waits” is in anticipation of something that is being hoped for. There is an expectation. Certainly, if we never waited for anything and all our wants and desires were instantly gratified, I believe our characters would be flawed. We would be people of little substance.

So what are you waiting for? Perhaps healing or recovery from a physical challenge. Or relief from a financial burden. Or the arrival of relatives for a holiday gathering. Whatever it is, there is an expectation and a hope attached to it. I encourage us all to take courage as we wait. Allow the waiting to make us strong and refine us in some way. God uses waiting to develop our character. Long waits can get discouraging, but we must hang on to hope. Keep praying. Keep growing. Keeping hoping.

This season of advent is all about waiting. It celebrates the culmination of a centuries-long wait for the Messiah, the Savior of the world. But we are also in a season of advent as we wait for the second coming of our Savior Jesus Christ. He will return to earth to rescue his beloved from this hurting world. That wait brings me the greatest hope. (It also gives me a sense of urgency as I think of my loved ones who have not yet given their lives to Jesus.) This advent season, let’s not only celebrate the first arrival of our Heavenly King, but also His imminent second arrival and our future with him in heaven. That is the ultimate wait and it affords the peace, hope and joy we all seek.

By the way, my husband is not thrilled with this picture but I thought it might get your attention. Notice the clock on the wall. We got there at 8:30 and we would be there for another 40 minutes or so–waiting.