I have spent a long time waiting recently. Waiting, is utterly annoying and frustrating. Standing waiting to get where I want to go, waiting in traffic, in bank queues, the list goes on. The estimate is that we spend six months of our life queuing.
But the fact that we do wait shows something. It shows that what we are waiting for is worth standing in a queue for, or stuck in a traffic jam for.
Maybe there is something in this waiting that we should take hold of and make our own. That we should not necessarily enjoy the wait but we should appreciate the opportunity it gives to recognise that we are waiting because it is worth it. Whether it is waiting for a train that is delayed to go home to a loved one, whether it is waiting in a queue to get some money to go out for the night.
Waiting give us a chance to give thanks for what we are waiting for and as a result renew our joy in life?
Waiting plays an significant part in the life of those who follow Jesus. We wait in the short term maybe for answers to prayer, or in the long term, we wait for God to put this broken world to right. Maybe God has us wait so often because it helps us realise that God is the one who is in control and not us. But as we wait we can be renewed:
But they who wait for 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)
