W is for Waiting, by Susan Barclay

 

As I was contemplating this month’s post, I remembered reading about how much time the average person spends waiting. A quick Google search took me to reference.com and some American statistics. I doubt we’re much different in Canada or anywhere else in the west. 

We spend

• 20 minutes a day for the bus or train
• 32 minutes in a waiting room before seeing the doctor
• 28 minutes in security lines when travelling
• 21 minutes for a significant other to get ready to go out
• 13 hours on hold for customer service (annually)
• 38 hours in traffic (annually)
• 37 billion hours in line (collectively and annually) – given Canada’s much smaller population, this number would be much smaller north of the 49^th parallel

In short, we wait a LOT. The Bible also contains many illustrations of this reality. Here are just a few:

• Noah waited for the floodwaters to recede and the earth to dry before he and his family could leave the safety of the Ark (12.5 months, see Genesis 8:13-14)
• Jacob waited 7 years for his beloved Rachel and worked another 7 years to fulfill his part of the marriage agreement (Genesis 29)
• The Israelites wandered 40 years in the wilderness before gaining the right to enter the Promised Land
• The Jews were taken captive in Babylon 70 years before being allowed to return to their homeland
• There are 400 years between the Old Testament and the New. Waiting and waiting for Messiah, the fulfillment of centuries of prophecy!

Even Jesus had to wait:

• 9 months from conception to birth;
• 30 years before the beginning of his earthly ministry;
• 40 days in the wilderness after being baptized by John and while being tempted by satan;
• four days before raising his friend Lazarus;
• hours of intense prayer in the garden of Gethsemane before his betrayer’s kiss;
• hours on the cross before dying;
• three days in the grave before resurrecting

Waiting is hard. It doesn’t come naturally. We want what we want when we want it. God, on the other hand, wants to develop patience in us. He wants to develop trust. He wants us to believe and know that He is God. He is sovereign and good even when it doesn’t always appear so.

As believers we wait for

• Answers to prayer
• God to move in situations and circumstances over which we have little to no control
• Unsaved family members and friends to come to Christ
• Guidance and direction from Holy Spirit

As writers we wait for

• The right words to flow onto the page
• Wisdom to know where to send our work
• Publishers to respond to our submissions and inquiries
• The right agent to advocate on behalf of us and our writing
• Words of affirmation or connection from readers

What are you waiting for today? What has waiting taught you about yourself and about God? As you look at biblical examples of waiting, what stories encourage you most, and why?

As you wait, rest in these words:

But those who wait on 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. ~Isaiah 40:31

Waiting gives us time to develop character and Christlikeness. May we wait in a way that proves our faith and pleases the LORD. May our waiting be an offering and a gift to Him, and the results testify that He does all things well. And may those who come behind us find us faithful.

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For more about Susan Barclay and her writing, please visit www.susan-barclay.blogspot.com.