Wait.

A daily commitment.

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Last week’s Message: The Biblical Meaning of Hope

Isaiah 40:31

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.

I have the Pray.com app on my phone. It’s a large app featuring podcasts, books, videos, prayer notifications, worship music, and more. I have a favorite podcast I listen to every morning between when I wake up and when I get out of bed: "Bible in a Year” with Pastor Jack Graham from Dallas, Texas. I discovered the app last year when the series was in the Book of Kings. The lesson starts with a prayer and then goes into a summarized Bible story, bringing the stories to life and making them memorable. Pastor Graham concludes the story with a life application and a closing prayer. I began listening on January 1 with Genesis 1:1, planning to go through the entire year again.

The stories of Abraham and Sarah and Isaac and Rebekah are well-recognized to anyone who has read Genesis and knows the foundational tales of our faith. I find it interesting how, when we revisit the Word and familiar stories, we can choose one of two paths:

1. read through the passages quickly because we know the events or

2. soak them in and learn deeper lessons from lives lived long ago.

I hadn’t realized that Rebekah, like Sarah, had also been childless. Some accounts from the Torah suggest she was barren for 20 years before conceiving twins Esau and Jacob. It seems many stories in the Bible teach us lessons about waiting.

• Jacob: He was forced to wait 14 years to marry Rachel, the woman he loved, and then Rachel struggled for many years before she gave birth to Joseph and Benjamin.

• Joseph: He waited 13 years between the time of his dream and his prosperity. In the meantime, he was sold into slavery, was falsely accused of rape, and spent time in prison.

• Moses: He fled Egypt at age 40, and it took another 40 years for the Israelites to enter the promised land. The Israelites had been in bondage in Egypt for 430 years, nearly 11 generations.

• David: He was anointed to be king and then waited about 15 years to step into the role.

• Noah: After receiving God’s command to build the ark because a flood was coming, the world’s calamity didn’t occur for 120 years.

• Job: After losing everything – his children, his wealth, and his health – he suffered for many months, maybe longer, before God blessed him for his faithfulness with twice as much as he had lost.

These stories emphasize that God’s promises often take time. Yes, the answers to our prayers are sometimes instantaneous. But more often than not, the answers take months, even years. Waiting is what tests our faith and teaches reliance on Him. While waiting, all of the people listed, who were just as impatient as we are sometimes, often made fits and started to hurry the process. Once we hear from the Lord that everything will be alright, we want it to be so RIGHT NOW.

Does stamping our feet, crying real tears, and begging and pleading with God to make it happen any faster?

Usually not.

He heard our prayers the first time. He wants us to learn to trust His promises. Jesus himself said, “Whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive if you have faith.” (Matt. 21:22)

Most of us are waiting for something. We want doors to open, prayers to be answered, miracles to happen, breakthroughs to happen.

Revisiting these personal stories are examples of how long we sometimes need to wait for our answers to come. We need to embrace the importance of persistent prayer and learning to KNOW God's timing is almost never our timing. God's promises almost always take longer to be fulfilled than expected. Waiting is one of the most important tests of Christian life.

Today’s prayer

Dear Heavenly Father, humans are impatient by nature. You know, You created us. Our “hurry up” society has pushed us to the edge. Learning to rest in You and relax into Your timing is challenging because our world has deadlines, and we have dilemmas that require solutions immediately—or so we think.

Teach us to trust that You know what’s going on and You are closer than our next breath. Help us to really feel Your presence as we navigate the storms of life. It’s a daily process of recommitment. Show us Your loving kindness. Pick us up when we fall. Talk to us with soft reassurances, whispering in our ears, “Fear not, I AM in control.” We ask these things, this or something better, in Jesus’ Name. Thank you. Amen.

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