Teach Me Lord To Wait

      Life requires much waiting. And most of the time, we don't like the wait. We wait in check-out lines. We wait in lines for amusement rides. We wait in traffic. We wait for vacation and summer and pleasant weather and special events.

      Usually, we don't like the wait because of the anticipation of better things to come. But wait we must. Some wait patiently while others become impatient and agitated. These are focusing on the wait instead of the reward after the wait.

      But there is also the dreaded wait, anticipating something bad. Such is the wait outside the Principal's office or for the police officer to walk up to your window. These times must also be endured as we await the outcome.

      There are indications in the scriptures that we are expected to wait. "Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed....For You are the God of my salvation; On You I wait all the day." (Psalm 25:3-5). "Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!" (Psalm 27:14). "Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him..." (Psalm 37:7). "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). "But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance." (Romans 8:25). Also read First Thessalonians 1. Here Paul speaks of them as turning to serve God and to wait for Jesus, the deliverer, from heaven.

      Waiting upon God is a virtue. As we wait, we see His salvation, we receive His strength, we know His rest, and we come to understand endurance and patience. The wait for God's time is sometimes difficult for us because God is not bound by time as we are. But the reward is beyond anything we will ever receive on earth. The song that is sometimes sung, "Teach Me Lord To Wait", speaks on allowing God time to answer and not to rely on others actions; to humble ourselves as we call upon Him; and as we wait, be what He wants us to be in this earthly life, keeping our faith renewed and our eyes on Him.         q

Mike Helms