Friends, I have a question for you this morning. What are you waiting for? We are all waiting for something and during this advent season, as we celebrate the long-awaited Messiah who came to earth, I am asking myself this question. What do I spend my days waiting for; yearning for? So that’s our topic this morning.
Are you waiting for a loved one to get well? Or maybe yourself?
Are you waiting for a better job to come along?
Perhaps are you waiting to buy your first home or even be able to rent a home?
Waiting for a friend or family member to come back to the Lord? Or perhaps come to the Lord for the first time?
The list is endless, but what is curious to me is why do we naturally focus on what is not rather than focusing on what is? What if we shifted our thinking towards living each day with the expectancy that today we are not waiting for anything; we are living in the moment enjoying what today brings? I am personally challenged by asking myself the question not only “What am I waiting for?” but also asking, “Why am I living my life waiting?” So I searched the Scriptures for an answer. One of my favorite Scriptures came to mind.
Those who wait upon the Lord will renew their strength. They will rise up like eagles. They shall run and not grow weary. They shall walk and not faint… (Isaiah 40:31)
The Bible acknowledges our waiting, but it is a different kind of waiting. It’s waiting upon the Lord. Not waiting anxiously trying our hardest to change or alter our circumstances that might be out of our control, but instead waiting on the Lord to intervene. Do you see the difference? Our waiting is often tied into what we can do to alter our circumstances and if unalterable, our future is often tied up with fretting and worrying or stressing about the fact that we cannot do anything about it. But as people of faith, we wait differently We wait on the Lord to renew our strength.
We may not find a way out of our trials, but we will find a way to walk in them differently– a way that ensures our strength will be renewed and even more… we will rise up like eagles flying and not grow weary.
Friends, this thinking requires a heart change and a willingness to trust in the Lord. Waiting becomes an opportunity for strengthening! Waiting becomes an opportunity to live our days fully enjoying the day the Lord has prepared for us, rather than fearing the future. The word in Hebrew for wait also means hope (Quavah) and its meaning is likened to a strand of threads being woven together to become a strong cord.
This advent season as we celebrate the birth of Jesus, why not challenge ourselves to live each day to the fullest, placing our trust in God to renew our strength amidst whatever trials we are facing? We will find ourselves flying high like the eagles above our circumstances. This is where our faith meets the rubber of the road – tested in fire, yet causing us to fly.
Joanne
