Waiting on Jesus
Do you know what’s one of my favorite things to do?
Waiting.
I love it. It’s the beeeeeest! Don’t you love just waiting? It’s so fun to be behind a car driving at or below the speed limit. Oh, man! Sign. Me. Up!
Or chatty cashiers that make the line last longer? Yes, please!
Oh – and being put on hold for the next available representative? Thank you, sir, may I have another?!!?
If you haven’t picked up on it, I’m laying on the sarcasm pretty thick. I hate waiting. Don’t you? At least, wouldn’t you prefer not to have to wait?
But such is life when you’re following Jesus. Turns out that following Jesus regularly feels more like waiting than walking.
Speed Reading the Bible While Waiting on Jesus
This probably shouldn’t surprise us. The Bible actually has far more downtime than action. But we quickly read a sentence, and it doesn’t often register how long it took for the scene to play out in real-time.
100 Years of Crammed into 13 Chapters for Abraham
Part of Abraham’s life is recorded between Genesis 12 and 25. Given the age of Abraham provided at different points in those 13 chapters, we know that it spans 100 years.
It would take you, what, maybe 20 minutes or so, to read through those sections of Scripture? But it took 100 years to live it out.
More Than Two Years of Waiting in Prison for Joseph
Genesis 41:1 says, “At the end of two years, Pharoah had a dream.”
The reader is supposed to understand that it’s been two years since Joseph helped some people out while he was in prison.
Two years.
No content in the Bible. No explanation. Only waiting.
40 Years of Waiting on Moses
It’s recorded in Acts 7:30 that, “after forty years had passed, an angel appeared to (Moses) in the wilderness of Mount Sinai, in the flame of a burning bush.”
If you read this account in Exodus, it simply says in 2:23, “After a long time…”
How long does it take you to read four words? Not forty years, that’s for sure!
And on it goes. We may read the Bible quickly. But the story is a long one.
So why is waiting so hard? Why does it so often catch us by surprise?
Culturally Conditioned for Instant Gratification
Have you ever watched a home remodeling show on HGTV? Admit it - we know you know how much Joanna Gaines loves Shiplap!
Home reno shows can be fun to watch. Projects are finished in a tight, 45-minute episode.
But have you ever remodeled a part of your house? Takes longer than 45 minutes, just FYI.
There are times when it can feel like it’s taking forever! I’ve lost count of how many homes Kristy has helped people renovate.
Waiting isn’t an interruption or an obstacle. It’s a part of life.
Most people throughout the world and history have approached life that way. Lois Tverberg highlights this in her book, “Reading the Bible with Rabbi Jesus.”
She writes that we’re WEIRD.
Western. Educated. Industrialized. Rich. Democratic.
Most people reading this will fall into those categories. But it is not the experience that most people around the world today have. And it’s certainly not the experience of most people throughout history.
Think about each of the five categories that make us WEIRD. Even just on the American continent. The majority of the life that’s been lived on this land has been in submission to and in harmony with the rhythms of nature.
Rivers divided tribes. Daylight dictated productivity. Seasons of weather determined seasons of community life.
Then, one day, people decided to blow holes through mountains and build bridges across rivers. Entire water sources were even redirected so that people could create cities in places wherever they wanted.
Why wait for the sun to come up to get to work when you can turn on the lights and get cracking?
I’m not making a judgement, here. Just an observation.
Many of us – myself included – have been raised in and shaped by a cultural assumption that if we work hard enough, we can force our circumstances to accommodate our preferences.
And that’s just not true.
Or healthy.
And it’s certainly not the light yolk and easy burden Jesus promised to those who would come to Him.
In fact, forcing our will, our agenda, feels like pressuring Jesus to follow us.
But in love, He simply says –
….
….
….
….
….Nothing.
At least, nothing about the particular question we may be waiting for an answer to. He’s never silent, though. The Bible, the Word of God, is constantly available to most of us.
He has promised to pour out His Spirit. The heavens declare the glory of God.
Jesus is not fickle. He doesn’t play games with our hearts. He’s not passive-aggressive. God doesn’t enjoy withholding.
The Bible promises that He withholds no good thing!
If His answer to our question in a given season – is wait – He has a good purpose for it.
In the waiting, He invites us into a deeper space of love, trust, and intimacy with Him.
Waiting on Jesus is Not…
Passive. Or lazy. Or a lack of faith.
I don’t want to speak beyond what my experience allows. So I’ll limit myself. I have spent most of my life striving with dogged determination.
Like an old-time blacksmith would force iron into the shape he wanted, I’ve tried to forge many circumstances into the shape I’ve wanted.
With enough heat and force, perseverance and persistence, we blast holes through the mountains that block us from achieving our goals.
It’s exhausting.
And misguided. At least, not as fully formed and informed as I believe the Holy Spirit desires for His people.
One of the significant blessings we receive when we wait on Jesus is learning how much better it is to seek His face than His hand.
Some things can only be learned through experience. And some experiences take time to marinate in our souls to fully accomplish God's good purposes for our hearts.
It’s one thing to trust God for particular outcomes. It’s another to trust His character regardless of the outcome.
This isn’t to say that we should never hope or pray for particular things. We absolutely should.
But notice how Jesus approaches this in Luke 11:9-13.
“...how much more will the Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask Him?”
People ask for all kinds of things, and what He says He will not hold back on giving – is Himself. His Holy Spirit.
And that is SO much better than any and everything else we ask for. God Himself is the goal. And He knows what we need. He’s taking care of the birds; He will care for us.
We’re Getting our Wait On
Every word written so far has been driving me to this point.
We have no church planting update for you this month.
Nothing has changed. Nada. Zero. Zilch.
We’re raising support. Our house is on the market. We’re trusting God to build a prayer team.
And we’re trying to be faithful while we’re still in New Richmond.
Our whole family is eager to get to Portland and seek what God has for us there. But there are circumstances out of our control, and we won’t try to force something to happen foolishly.
God doesn’t need us in Portland. Or New Richmond. But He invites us to join in His great work. And since building the church is Jesus’ job, we don’t have to press or stress.
He moves His people where He wants when He wants. Or has them stay. And wait.
How Much Wait will God Put on You?
Are you in a season of waiting on Jesus? If not, just wait. You’ll get there. And it will be so good for you.
God desires greater things for us than we would dare to ask Him for. Abundantly beyond all we could ask or even imagine.
He’s got the long game in mind. Like, the eternal long game. He’s a Great Shepherd. He leads us all in different ways at different times.
While you’re in a season of laying down in green pastures by still waters, someone else may be walking through the valley of the shadow of death.
Regardless, when we look in the rearview mirror, we will see goodness and mercy following us. Sometimes, we have to stop and wait so it can catch up.
Do you trust God enough to wait for Him to be as good to you as He wants to be? Waiting on Jesus is always worth it.
