WAITING

By Theresa Boe
Wife of Intern Pastor Brett Boe
Serving in Grafton, ND

Wait. No one likes to hear the word. When I tell my 2-year-old to wait, he asks again. And again. Often times he will keep repeating his request until the wait is over. The fact that he was told "wait", and not "no," instilled a hope that he would eventually see his request realized. Every person, in every stage of life, is waiting for something. Right now I am waiting for the birth of a second child, each day feeling the weight and discomfort increase as the date of delivery comes closer. My family is waiting for the Lord's leading as we do not know where we will be living in just four months when my husband's seminary internship ends. Just wait.

Despite the discomfort that is often involved, waiting is directly tied to hope. For me there is hope that, in just a few days, the baby that now causes discomfort in the womb will be in our arms. Hope that in four months, the Lord will have directed our family to our next home. And the greatest hope, belonging to all believers, is that Christ will return to redeem us and take us home to glory. Psalm 130:5, "I wait for the LORD, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope." This hope keeps us from despondency: "I would have despaired unless I had believed that I would see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD" (Ps. 27:13-14). Galatians 5:5, "For we through the Spirit, by faith, are waiting for the hope of righteousness." Romans 8:23-25 expresses the hope of righteousness further: "...we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. For in hope we have been saved...But if we hope for what we do not see, with perseverance we wait eagerly for it." This is the kind of waiting that does not weary. According to Isaiah 40:31, "those who wait for the LORD will gain new strength..."!

One common misconception of waiting is that while we wait, we do nothing else. This only allows room for impatience. David says that while he waits "all the day" for the LORD, he prays to know His ways, to learn His paths, to be led in the truth of God's salvation (Psalm 25:4-5)! We are to wait with diligence, keeping ourselves for the One who called us: "Let integrity and uprightness preserve me, For I wait for You" (Ps. 25:21). John Waller, in his song "While I'm Waiting," sings, "I will serve You while I'm waiting, I will worship while I'm waiting. I will not faint; I'll be running the race, even while I wait." Attached to Jude's exhortation to wait for our ultimate hope of Christ's return is also a call to use the time for evangelism: "You, beloved, building yourselves up on your most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit, keep yourselves in the love of God, waiting anxiously for the mercy of our Lord Jesus Christ to eternal life. And have mercy on some, who are doubting; save others, snatching them out of the fire; and on some have mercy with fear..." (vv.20-23).

So as we wait, we fix our eyes on Jesus, looking eagerly for what He is going to teach us while we wait. The Lord may use what He teaches us now to be an encouragement to others; He will definitely use times of waiting to refine us, His dearly beloved children, setting us apart daily for Himself. Now let us "Be strong and let [our] hearts take courage, All [we] who hope in the LORD" (Ps. 31:24).