Time is a commodity that composes all of the days of our lives. It is either felt as a gift or as a curse. Waiting for Covid to be over so that we can get “back to life” is something we are all familiar with during this season. There is he waiting ‘till the baby sleeps all night. The waiting to get out of the hospital. The waiting for news of a new job, acceptance to a school, being chosen for the opportunity that will change our lives. But what about in the meantime? Is there a way to see the moments in such a way that we can live the moments as a gift. “This is the day the Lord has made. We will rejoice….”
The clock called “Big Ben” in London near Westminster Abbey has been getting a facelift for many years now, but has faithfully chimed the passing of moments for many decades. And so my church down the street from where I live in Oxford reminds me every quarter of an hour that time is passing. Passing. Passing. Passing. Time chases us every day.
Sometimes we watch the clock or calendar because we’re anxious for a vacation or the end of a season, the completion of a project or the beginning of another. I am a “quick” person and like to get things done. I am are often in a hurry, and yet, I have slowly realized… God is not! He doesn’t lose sight of the main thing … and he doesn’t become impatient in waiting, as we do.
"The Bible is our direct source for perceiving God's attributes, noticing how He dealt with people in the past, and learning what is important to Him. Our whole Christian life isn't primarily about being good or doing the right thing or accomplishing all that is on our list.. Our lives are to be about a personal relationship--a love cultivated between Creator and creature, Father and child.
By spending time in His Word, we come to know His heart. God longs for relationship with us and honors those who love Him and search for Him. Reading Scripture in such a way as to know Him better and look for clues as to how He interacts with human beings has given me a better understanding of how to please Him. I have learned how He deals with others so that I can better understand His work in my own life.
For instance, as I read and ponder the stories of the Bible--the lives of Abraham, Sarah, Moses, Joseph, and David, I see that they all had to wait for many years to see their promise from God fulfilled. It gives me a pattern for being mature. Apparently some things take a long time. I can see that God's timing and ways in the lives of those He has used are different than the ways of this world. In this world, I want immediate gratification--Answer my prayer now! Yet I see that those who were godly had to wait in faith for years, trusting that they would see the faithful hand of God in His time." ~from The Mom Walk
Ahhhh ... waiting. It is common to God's people, in all times. "There is nothing new under the sun," as Ecclesiastes 1:9 tells us.
Will I rest in His timing? Knowing that the clock really belongs to my Father, and He can see what time it is, though all I see is the moving of gears? Will I trust that He knows all and that when the time has fully arrived, He will surely cause the song to ring out, heralding the change I'm eagerly awaiting? How shall I make this time, this waiting, a place of love, beauty, goodness, productivity?
Spending time in His word reminds me that He will be faithful, though I wait long.
Are you waiting, too, today?
