Waiting: An Adventure, Not a Waste of Time
Most people hate waiting: waiting for test results, waiting to hear from a prospective employer. Life seems like a waste of time until the Big Event occurs.
God disagrees.
Waiting is when good stuff happens. It’s when we become a friend of God, relying on God more because we don’t know when or what is going to happen. During Abraham’s 25 year wait for a son, he had all kinds of adventures and bonded with God so that by the time he had a son, he was willing to give him up for something more precious—his life with God. Likewise, David waited 20 years to become king. In that time his reliance on God exploded as chronicled in 13 of the most exciting chapters of the Old Testament (1 Sam 16-2 Sam 4).
Growth in our daily interactive life with God outshines any event. “What God gets out of our lives— and, indeed, what we get out of our lives— is simply the person we become.” (Divine Conspiracy, 250)
So who you are with God is more important than what you do. But we don’t think that way, do we?
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Human Thinking |
Kingdom of God Thinking: God invites us, saying . . . |
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What do I have to do to be successful at . . .? |
Trust me today. Rely on me for every little thing. Let me be your teacher. |
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When will I achieve my goals? |
Partner with me today in how I’m advancing the Kingdom of God here and now today. |
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I must try hard to change my attitude. |
Connect with me today and let me shape your character. I will change you. |
Today God is eager to partner with you in advancing the Kingdom—but what does that mean? The Kingdom of God exists wherever what God wants done, gets done! What does God want done? For us to love the Lord our God with everything we’ve got today; to love the person standing in front of us today with grace-filled intentionality. You know the details: speak the truth in love, don’t withhold help when it is within your power to help, don’t judge people, live in gratitude and so on. All of these things build our trust in God and shape us into the kind of people God can use to do anything!
In Scripture, waiting is not boring. It’s about hope and anticipation. (Notice how in Psalms “wait” and “hope” appear together.) It’s full of alert expectancy—what adventure will I have with God today?
As I write this, I’ve been sick with a cold for 3 weeks. In the midst of that, I tweaked my knee to the point that I have needed crutches to walk. I am waiting for healing of my respiratory system and my medial meniscus. I’ve spent a lot of time in bed trying not to be bored. Now that I’m able to get around some, I need to wash clothes. Ugh. I am tempted to be crabby and just “get through” it.
But I live here and now in the Kingdom of God. So I’m asking Jesus today to help me rely on him as I do the wash. To show me how to do this in “the will of God in Christ Jesus”: rejoicing always, praying without ceasing, giving thanks in all circumstances. It occurs to me that I can ask Jesus help me live in the Kingdom today. Perhaps I might have a day of partnering with God in unexpected adventures?
THAT NIGHT: This has been a lovely day of conversing with God. I’m so blessed to be up and around. Somehow doing wash was not boring, and together Jesus and I tackled a lot of little projects. I almost forgot to ask Jesus for help. Writing this for you reminded me. Thanks!
Grace and peace,
Jan Johnson
www.JanJohnson.org
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