A new year is a great time for introspection and planning. People make resolutions and goals they hope to achieve during the year. Whether it’s to finish school, lose weight, start exercising, or find a new home, the possibilities are endless. After all, it’s a new year. The old is gone and you have a clean horizon before you simply bursting with possibilities.
Over the past few years, I have used this new beginning to select my word for the year. The word I select is usually something that God is working on me about. Last year my word for the year was “Believe.” That word was a great word for 2020. There were so many disruptions, distractions, and not to mention straight out disasters this past year, that having that word “believe” was a reminder of Who I put my trust in and where my faith was anchored.
For the past few weeks, I’ve been praying about my word for 2021; asking God what He wanted to develop in me this year. A few have come to mind, but for one reason or another, I have discarded them. They didn’t seem to fit. But, one word has stayed with me; tugging at my thoughts and speaking to my spirit. The word? “WAIT”. I know what you’re thinking. I’ve said it myself. Wait? But God didn’t we already do that in 2020. We waited during the quarantine. We waited to buy necessities. We waited for life to return to normal. In fact, we are still waiting. But arguments aside, the word that won’t leave my thoughts is “Wait.”
So my next step was to stop resisting and listen to what God wants me to learn about waiting.
All through scripture we see examples of people waiting on God. Noah, Abraham, Joseph, David, Ruth, Isaiah, Zachariah & Elizabeth, Mary & Paul to name a few. Some waited for a few years, while others had to wait for much longer. In Isaiah 40:31, the prophet wrote;
"Yet those who wait for the Lord Will gain new strength; They will mount up with wings like eagles, They will run and not get tired, They will walk and not become weary."
Isaiah clearly knew the value and art of waiting and, since I don’t profess to be great at waiting, I needed a bit more to focus my thoughts on. I found some additional inspiration and direction buried within the word “Wait.”
With Anticipation
Have you ever seen a child wait for something? They cycle through a whole spectrum of emotions; excitement, frustration, boredom, disappointment, and finally relief when the waiting is over. You can usually throw in a few tears and whining to get a clear picture of what waiting can look like. As adults, we’re expected to be more mature and be able to practice a certain amount of patience when waiting, but in reality, except for the tears and whining, our waiting behavior sometimes mirrors that of a child. How does one Wait with Anticipation?
Noah waited with Anticipation. God had instructed him to build an ark. He had specific instructions and set out to build a boat. Keep in mind that Noah did not have waterfront property. He was landlocked and he had never seen rain. But the Lord had told him to build a boat, and build a boat he did. We don’t know exactly how long it took Noah to build the ark, but scholars believe it to be between 50 – 80 years. Some go as far as 120 years. Regardless, even at the low end of that time estimate, 50 years is a long time to wait and be productive. But Noah was waiting with anticipation. He had faith in what God had told him. He knew what was coming. Even though he was ridiculed and harassed, he kept building and was prepared when the flood came.
In His Presence
Waiting is almost always difficult. We live in a-microwave popcorn, drive-through dinner culture. We don’t like to wait. We would do almost anything to not have to wait. We fill up the waiting time with diversions and distractions so that we can fool ourselves into thinking that we’re not really waiting. I have to ask, How is that working for you? For me, not so much. We have spent the past 9 months, reading, watching TV, playing video games, starting new hobbies, and redecorating our houses which have had to double up as offices and classrooms. We were given the perfect opportunity to spend some much needed time with God, but many of us missed that and just filled our time with other things.
Simeon & Anna were willing to wait in His Presence. Israel (the country) had not had a prophet for over 400 years. The coming of the Messiah had been prophesied and those prophecies had been handed down from generation to generation. When we meet Simeon and Anna, (Luke 2:21-36) we find them in the temple worshipping. They were waiting with anticipation and in His presence for the coming of the Messiah. When Mary & Joseph brought the baby Jesus to the temple, both Simeon and Anna were there to meet him.
For His Timing
It has been said, that “timing is everything” and to God, that is also true. Solomon wrote in Ecclesiastes 3:1, “There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every matter under heaven.” Peter encourages us in 2nd Peter 3:8 with “But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as one day.” It is clear that God’s timing almost never aligns with our wishes. But I also know that God’s timing is always perfect.
In Galatians 4:4, we read “But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son”. It is clear that God had a perfect plan when it came to redemption. If He cares so much for us that He sent His only Son, what makes us think that His plans for our lives is any less important to Him.
Waiting for God’s Timing is often the hardest part of the waiting process. We want to move things along, get the show on the road, and hit the trail. But too often we just end up chasing our tails.
Zachariah and Elizabeth knew about the timing of God. Both were in their later years and they had been unable to have a baby. They had prayed diligently for a child and one day, while serving in the Temple, an angel appeared to Zachariah with a special message: “Do not be afraid, Zechariah, for your prayer has been heard, and your wife Elizabeth will bear you a son, and you shall call his name John. And you will have joy and gladness, and many will rejoice at his birth, for he will be great before the Lord.”
This year, 2021, I will put these concepts into practice. I will Wait, in Anticipation, In His Presence, and for His Timing. Will this be easy? No, Absolutely not. But with the Holy Spirit to teach me, I hope to learn as Isaiah did, the art and value of waiting.
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