03/31/2018
It is Holy Saturday, and on this day Jesus lay in His tomb, but for us it is a time of waiting, of anticipation. Are you one who is comfortable in waiting, or does it cause you to toss and turn in the night? In our relationship with God we often find ourselves waiting for Him... do you settle in, or pace the floor? Let the Lord give you peace as you wait, because there is untold blessing in the waiting.
“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV
When Ann and I were young we would travel to Northern Virginia on holidays to visit with my family, and it was a 13 hour drive from our house in Nashville to my parent’s home. We made this trip with our first baby, then two children, three, and finally four. I recall many happenings along the way, but it seemed that on most trips Ann was nursing one of our crying babies for nearly the entire drive there and back. The interesting part of all this is that although I remember some special things about our time spent with my family, I can remember a great deal about those intense 13 hour drives with our children. I remember finding games to play as we attempted to keep the kids occupied, like watching license plates, and who could see plates from more states than anyone else, or ‘I spy’ in which you would look for a color, or something around us as we moved through the countryside. I also remember those quiet hours when everyone else was asleep, and how I would thank God for the peace and quiet.
The point here is that despite the fun we had with my family when we arrived at my parent’s home, and the joy we felt when we returned to ours, our fondest memories as a nuclear family came from the journey; it came from 13 hours of squabbles, irritability, travel sickness, and babies that needed to nurse every minute of every hour. It also came from the excitement of beginning the journey, the anticipation of seeing family we hadn’t seen in a while, the games, the little songs, the license plates, the wonderful new things along the way, the landmarks we used to mark progress, and the laughter of the children as we told them to calm down. There were also those times when, in frustration, I would threaten... “Don’t make me stop this car!” but you know, I never did stop the car, and today as I look back I realize that those hours spent waiting to reach our destination, despite how I felt about them then, were precious indeed. These are also the stories our kids recall at family gatherings.
Our journeys in the Lord’s car of faith are a lot like those trips, except now we are the children, and He is looking to teach and entertain us as we wait... or can’t wait... to get to where we are going. So on this day, long ago, Jesus lay in the grave, and the disciples, and those around Him, waited. Some waited patiently, some were anxious, and others were doubtful they would ever see Him again, but the one thing they all had in common was that God was teaching them each a lesson about themselves, and their faith during the wait. I wonder, if we were able to talk to those disciples today, and asked them about that time of waiting... what their first remembrance would be? Would Peter remember how certain he was that Jesus was gone, how forlorn He was about denying Him three times, or the excitement and anticipation of His impending resurrection? I dare say it wouldn’t be the latter, and that those days were filled with uncertainty. It is easy for us to judge their lessons as they waited because we know the whole story, but as they now gather in heaven do they recall the wait? Do they say “remember how we cried, and had to console Peter?”, and do you remember the desperate prayers?
I read some wonderful words regarding spiritual waiting today.. listen to them:
“God graciously uses our need and desire for help to educate us for something higher than we may have been thinking of. We were seeking gifts; He longs to give himself and to satisfy our soul with His goodness. It is for this reason that He often withholds the gifts and that the time of waiting seems so long.” - Andrew Murray
So we wait; and as the hours, days, months, or year’s tick by, what lesson has God been teaching, what gift of Himself has He been offering? I guess the greater question to ask would be of ourselves... have I been receptive, or resistant to receiving what God desires to give me? Have I been a good disciple, or a whining baby the sought only to be nursed for the entire journey?
Rest assured that the waiting will come to an end, and that the now insignificant thing we originally asked for will be given, but the real treasure, and the real blessing will come in what we received in the midst of our wait. The story we will tell at the table of our Father will be about the joys of the journey. Today we wait with the disciples for the stone to be rolled back from the tomb, but inside, the miracle, the lesson, is already being prepared.
Prayer:
Father, I thank you for the lessons that only come as we wait upon you. I thank you for these times that we feel are so hard, but are always proven to be insignificant as compared to the blessings we receive by waiting. I thank you for this journey that we are on together, and for the wonders you point out along the way. You show us yourself at every turn, and reveal treasures of faith in the waysides, and stops as we trek. Today I anticipate another Easter morning, and the thrill in rising to find the stone rolled back from the tomb. As I sleep tonight, you will be preparing a moment of unbridled joy for me, and as I wait you are teaching me the power of trusting in your Word. Praised be Jesus, the Christ, the Son of God! In the tomb he fulfills His prophesy, and in my waiting, I am receiving new life through His death. Help me Father as I grow in faith by waiting for you. Holy is your instruction, and Holy are your gifts; give me the courage, faith, and the perseverance needed to wait. Holy, Holy, Holy, art thou my God, who teaches me in the midst of my longing, who gives me treasure as I wait.
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”
Psalms 130:5-6 ESV
Rich Forbes