I have noticed, not just in the city but also applicable to the country that people don’t like waiting very long for things. I feel we have lost our ability to wait and therefore we have become a very impatient society as well. Whether that’s waiting to speak to a phone operator for assistance, waiting for a meal, waiting in traffic, even waiting for the weekend to come about. I wonder how many hours we spend in our week waiting. The strange things is even thought we do it so often, we never get used to it do we? We have become a society that wants instant gratification and instant results, which are now brought about through the technology we have at our fingertips.
Psalm 40 reminds us, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand. He put a new song in my mouth, a hymn of praise to our God. Many will see and fear the Lord and put their trust in him.”
King David tells us there is a reason or purpose to our waiting. There is a set time for everything to happen (Ecc.3:1-8). It takes time for things to come about and we need to be patient when it comes to God’s will to be carried out. Often we’re told it won’t happen overnight, but it will happen (sounds like a shampoo commercial) and when the Lord unfolds his salvation, it happens in his timing and not ours because his timing is always perfect. Yet we still become frustrated in experiencing these lengthy delays don’t we? But God sees the bigger picture right from the start.
We look to the future thinking and anticipating what god will bring. We say that the children are the future of the church but I think the future of the church is here and now. We all are part of the future of the church and that’s because we all have our part to play, waiting for the right opportunities, waiting patiently in gospel growth and waiting patiently for prayer to be answered.
So as we wait in anticipation in our lives, let us look at how we are growing and maturing in Christ, allowing for his work to develop and seeing it all come together one day for his glory. May he keep putting a new song in our mouths as we praise him and setting our feet upon the rock. Also remembering from Isaiah 40 that “those who wait in the Lord will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.” Lord, I can’t wait for that to happen!