Waiting for God
Updated: Sep 22, 2022
Patience is in short supply in our culture. We are so used to instant gratification we get upset when things don’t go quickly. The pandemic however has among other things delayed our expectations for instant anything. As everything has come to a screeching halt, we are forced to be reflective and wait.
Not to take it lightly there is much death and sickness and hardships and more to come. God is at work in all of this. Waiting then is a normal part of our Christian life. We must expect it and learn to be at ease with it.
We can reflect on all the different people in scripture that had to wait. Abraham, Noah, Moses and then the Israelites in the desert for 400 years and then another 400 years until the birth of Jesus. There are many who have waited. Peter gives us guidance as we are told to be humble ourselves and to cast our cares upon him. When in relationship with Christ we learn to naturally do this, but you must try and to name your sins, seek him daily, pray daily. A lukewarm faith, part time Christians will not benefit from God’s grace in this. He will exalt us and restore and establish us.
1 Peter 5:6-10
6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you. 8 Be sober-minded; be watchful. Your adversary the devil prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. 9 Resist him, firm in your faith, knowing that the same kinds of suffering are being experienced by your brotherhood throughout the world. 10 And after you have suffered a little while, the God of all grace, who has called you to his eternal glory in Christ, will himself restore, confirm, strengthen, and establish you.
Right now we are all fatigued from the demands of the pandemic. Death is at the door. Maybe you’ve been praying for help with basic needs like food and rent and nothing has happened. Amid our fear and anxiety we lose or will to be obedient to God. That is a human trait that Christ understands intimately.
The Lord provides grace and mercy to those who wait for him. He will exalt, restore, establish, strengthen, and support all of us.
Jesus was resurrected in the body on earth, partly so that we, his followers, could have full confidence in eternity with him. He defeated the powers of death on earth as he inaugurated his Kingdom and sent the great commission out into the world through all of us his children. Pray for patience and seek the counsel of your fellow believers and glorify God in all you do!