Hope Unswervingly

Read Proverbs 16:9 Why does waiting seem to be so hard for us? We tend to see waiting as an idle or pointless delay in our plans, hopes and dreams. But what if there is purpose to it? What if I can be active in my waiting? How would that change my perspective, my attitude, and indeed, my life? From the start of life we are impatient, and some of us never “outgrow” it! The toddler whines to get the toy he wants right now. The teenager gets upset at the phone when the video is slow to download. The adult goes into debt so that she doesn’t have to wait for that wonderful fill-in-the-blank that will make life so much better. Each of these is a symptom of impatience, and a sign that we have not learned God’s lesson that waiting is an essential part of our Christian development. Without it, we become a world of Veruca Salts of Willy Wonka fame, going around pointing at all of our wants and desires and screaming out, “I want it now, Daddy!” As I look back on my prayers in my earlier fa...

Read John 11:5-6 Here we continue the story of Lazarus that we began last time.   We read two sentences that do not seem to go together. “Now Jesus loved Martha, her sister, and Lazarus. So when He heard that he [Lazarus] was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” Wait. What? Shouldn’t that read, “He loved them, so He immediately got up and ran to Bethany to save the day?”

Read 2 Peter 3:8-9 The aroma from the kitchen tantalizes your senses and makes your stomach begin to growl. You look at your watch, wondering how soon you’ll be able to taste whatever it is that is baking in the oven. Finally, you hear the sound of the timer going off, signaling that the waiting is over.