Waiting

Genesis 8:10-12 – And [Noah] waited yet another seven days, and again he sent the dove out from the ark. Then the dove came to him in the evening, and behold, a freshly plucked olive leaf was in her mouth; and Noah knew that the waters had receded from the earth. So he waited yet another seven days and sent out the dove, which did not return again to him anymore. (NKJV)

Life is all about waiting: waiting for people, waiting for an appointment, waiting in traffic, or waiting in line. Well, you get the idea.

These days, people are waiting for spring.

When we were kids, we had to wait to get to our summer vacation spot. I remember how many times, as children, we'd emote from the back seat of the family car, "Are we there yet?" It is hard to wait when you're in kindergarten.

Do you remember having to wait until you were old enough to have a bicycle? I do. It was a manual pedal bike, as opposed to the multi-speed roadsters and mountain bikes.

Then of course, we all had to wait to be old enough to drive a car. Do you remember waiting to graduate, or waiting for your name to be called so you could march with fellow diploma recipients to the platform?

Do you remember waiting to save for a down payment on your first house? How about waiting for the first-born child?

Waiting is not learned all at once. I dare say that it takes a lifetime to learn how to wait.

There are some tricks that I've learned about how to wait — how to put in the time. I would share some of them with you, but you'll just have to … wait.

As followers of Jesus, we also need to learn to wait. Isn't it interesting that God, Who is outside of time and space, wants to teach us about the value of waiting!

Noah had to wait while floating apparently aimlessly about. But he undoubtedly learned how to wait: He learned to trust in God's timing.

Hope springs eternal while we wait. Waiting fixes our focus on hope. As we get older, life teaches us that there is wisdom in waiting. This is especially true as we wait for God's good time.

Let's all practice this bit of wisdom and precious advice that the psalmist offers us:

Psalm 25:5 – Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day. (NKJV)

Prayer: Dear Lord and Father, with each new day, we learn the wisdom of waiting. As we wait, may we be filled with Your calming peace which we sense as we hope in You and Your sovereignty. We patiently wait and pray that Your will be done and Your kingdom come. Amen.