Waiting
Waiting. Despite the frenetic life in which we find ourselves today, there are times when we still have to wait:
In line at the grocery store
On hold on the telephone with customer service
For a package or delivery we have ordered
To recover from an illness or injury
The nine months of pregnancy
And one of the worst things to wait for, sitting in traffic.
We have managed to speed up so many parts of our lives, but we can’t fully rush past the inevitable moments of waiting. Waiting at some point in our lives, and at times, for extended periods of time, will always be a reality. We may be ready or think we are ready to get where we are going, to grow, to recover, to get what we have desired, but we will find ourselves more often than not, waiting.
The Bible deals with this concept of waiting, both implicitly and directly:
Waiting for the Messiah/Jesus
Waiting to return from exile (the southern Israelite kingdom)
Waiting for the restoration of God’s Kingdom
Waiting for the waters to recede after the flood in the book of Genesis
Waiting for miracles and healing
And the first disciples, waiting for what would come next, after Jesus’ death.
The Gospel writers of the first four books of the New Testament tell us that the first disciples did not understand Jesus’ true mission, which was to die for the sins of humanity, rise again, and then commission the disciples to bring God’s Kingdom to reality. Because of their lack of understanding, they were both confused and deeply grieved when they saw their Messiah, Jesus, arrested, beaten, and then hanging on the cross.
The Gospel of Luke tells us that at the time Jesus drew his last breath and died,
47 The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” 48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.
I find it interesting that there is no reaction from those who knew Jesus other than to stand there and watch. The centurion praised God, others beat their breasts (a sign of distress in that day), but those who knew Jesus just stood, watching. Were they in shock? Disbelief? Did they wonder if he would reanimate and come back to life? Were they simply unable to move, speak, or grieve?
The story goes on in chapter 23 to say,
50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid [italics added].
This man Joseph had enough sway with the religious council and with Pilate to dispose of Jesus’ body. They wouldn’t have given the body to just anyone. And so here was a man who took responsibility for this Messiah, whose own dreams and desires to see God’s Kingdom seemed to be wrapped in this lifeless body that he took and buried in a tomb. Did Joseph think this was just another messiah with empty promises? He, like so many other Jews at that time, waited expectantly for an earthly messiah to overthrow the Roman government and lead them in establishing their own Israelite kingdom once again. But that is not the Messiah Jesus was, and even the spiritual promises that Jesus gave during his lifetime seemed ended with his death.
For those of us who know the end of the crucifixion story, we understand that Jesus did not stay dead, but rose again in three days. We know that Jesus was not just a messiah or “anointed one,” he was the Messiah, the Anointed One, God in human flesh. And that his purpose was not to establish an earthly kingdom, but to bring God’s eternal and sovereign Kingdom to earth in the lives of people willing to follow him.
But, oh, the waiting that had to take place. Those three days while Jesus was in the tomb must have seemed like forever to the disciples. Their hopes and dreams seemed dead along with Jesus. Joseph, whose kind act of burying this messiah, may have seemed like he was burying both his dreams as well as Jesus.
Yet the Bible shows that waiting is part of the process of living as well as of serving God.
Isaiah 64:4 tells us that God works on behalf of those who wait for him.
Psalm 27:14 says, “Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” (NIV).
Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.
Psalm 40:1, “I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry.”
Psalm 130:5, “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope.”
Waiting is hard. But not only is waiting a part of life, it seems important to our growth and character. Waiting develops patience, discipline, and deepens our trust in God.
Life is moving much faster than it should today, which makes it even harder to wait for what we need or want. In those moments you find yourself waiting, connect with God. Find quiet moments to slip away, turn inward, and seek Him. Allow Him to speak to you, encourage you, strengthen you, and renew your strength.
For as Isaiah 40:31 says,
But those who wait on 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 (NKJV).