God does not act according to our preferred timetable. We wait for Him to answer our prayers, to act on our behalf, for healing, a new promotion, reconciliation, and salvation of friends and family. We wait for Him to arrange certain opportunities, to bring a special someone into our lives, to have children and grandchildren. We wait. So much of life consists of waiting. On a smaller scale we wait for the bus or for dinnertime, for a phone call or a green light. There always seems to be something for which we are waiting.
Because we live within time, waiting is part of the human condition. Physical matter operates within time. If something is static there is no need for time, but in order for movement, growth, or any change to take place, time is necessary. An object cannot be both here and there unless there the dimension of time is involved. Two objects cannot simultaneously occupy the same space; only once one has moved can the other occupy its place. Time is a gift to us flesh-and-blood creation that enables us to live and move and grow.
Time limits us but it cannot limit God because God created time. He operates outside of time, and He is not concerned about time the way we are. God made Sarah’s barren womb fruitful at age 90. He kept the oldest man in the bible, Methuselah, alive for 969 years until the year of the flood. Methuselah means “I die when it comes.” God’s plans are infinitely higher than ours and they will prevail because He is God. The timing of events in the biblical narratives is perfect, as is the timing of events in our own lives. This perfection is only sometimes understood and usually only in hindsight.
We humans cry out against our limitations as we attempt to take control of the universe. No matter our age we echo the childish refrain, “Are we there yet?” We want to arrive. We want answers. We do not like the discomfort of going the distance, the weariness of wandering and waiting. We would rather have the maturity without the growing process. We would rather be waited upon than wait for.
But that is our mistake: we make it about us. The world would carry on whether we got out of bed this morning or not, or whether we woke up to life on this new day at all. Our family and inner circles would be affected by our absence, but most of the population carries on – just as it should. After all, we carry on while full-scale wars take place across the globe and other families gather around the deathbeds of their beloved. Each one of us is dearly and deeply loved, but the world is not about us.
So then what is life about? Why do we exist at all? For what are we ultimately waiting? The answer is bigger than we dare to dream or hope. The answer means we are at once nothing and everything. We are born into the middle of a story, and it is a much bigger story than that of our own lives. It is a love story. The main character is the Trinitarian God: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. In love God creates and sustains creation. In love He redeems and fathers us. The story takes place over generations and nations. It is a story on the scale of God, not humanity. We are nothing compared to God, but we are everything because He who is Everything has bestowed His love upon us.
When we realise that life is not about us, we do not mind waiting. We are at the beck and call of our Lord. If he requires us simply to stand, then stand we will. When we understand that God is active in the world and that He is present in each moment, then waiting transforms into service and ordinary moments become sacred. Waiting is no longer waiting, but it becomes being. Being in the moment. Being in God’s presence. Soaking it in and enjoying the gift of time and the gift of our physical bodies, including their limitations.
Ultimately, we wait for the return of Christ and the consummation of His kingdom. All our waiting culminates in the end of time as we know it. I am no end-time expert, but once Christ has come again and His kingdom has been established on earth as it is in heaven, we will reign with Him forever. Time will have little importance in the wake of eternity. The waiting will have been worth it. Our deep yearnings will be forever satisfied in the presence of our King.
May you be blessed with God’s perspective on your situation. May you know that your waiting is in service of our King Jesus. May you have the grace to keep trusting God as you wait.
