Therefore the LORD waits to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show mercy to you. For the LORD is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.
Waiting. There seems to be a lot of waiting in Scripture. Blessed are those who wait for God. Yes. I get it. We need to wait. I strive to use waiting time for good, and boy, is that hard. Waiting for the water to heat up, waiting for the green light, waiting in line at the grocery store. It could be time that is angst filled, or time full of space and grace. I strive for the latter, by giving up the worries about time, or tomorrow, or dinner – at least for the few moments of serendipitous space.
As a newly wed, I was enamored with my husband, as I frequently still am. He was much better at turning waiting time into space. We were stuck in an airport waiting for a delayed final leg to rural Illinois. I was ansgst-full, because we were going to be dreadfully later to my parent’s home. My husband purchased a St. Louis Post Dispatch and sat leisurely and started to read it, cover to cover, extremely peaceful. When I asked how that was possible, he said that this was a brief amount of time where no one needed him, he couldn’t reach anyone, and he could just do what he wanted. Of course, this was before the days of instant access with cell phones. Hmm. Maybe next flight, I’ll put my phone in my checked bag!
Waiting is something we can easily turn into gracious space, so maybe it’s not so bad. Blessed are those who wait for God.
Interestingly, this passage starts with waiting, but it’s God who’s waiting. God waits for us! That is humbling, or embarrassing. The God who made all things, who can raise dry bones and come amongst us, that God waits for me. I bet that God is not looking at God’s watch, or tapping his holy foot, frustrated that I’m not ready or present for God’s grace. God waits. And frequently waits some more. God is ready to act, to be merciful and to bless us, as soon as we’re ready to receive it.
What that tells me is that if we find ourselves waiting for God, it’s likely because we are not ready, and that God is waiting for us. When I find myself waiting for God, I should probably figure out what God’s waiting for within me. God is unlikely ever late. I, however am frequently showing up at the wrong house, or late myself – busy with just one more thing.
This morning, I’m thinking about waiting, and how to use those stolen moments for good.
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