I will climb up to my watchtower and stand at my guardpost. There I will wait to see what the Lord says and how he will answer my complaint. Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed. Habakkuk 2:1-3
God tells the prophet to write everything down, and then make sure others
get to read or hear it. That describes a
preacher’s job in full – getting the message of God to everyone with ears. In this missive God wants a clear, straightforward
communication of His message. Write
plainly what you hear, Habakkuk; then spread the news around.
While God wants the prophet to be clear about stating the message, the
LORD also sets the effect of the message for a future time. And then God utters in Habakkuk’s ears the
one word no ten-year-old boy ever wants to hear, wait.
We all do a good bit of waiting. I
waited in line in the drive-up lane at the bank because that branch is outside
only. I’m waiting on a prescription to
be refilled right now because the pharmacy’s system got overwhelmed. We are all waiting for the pandemic to appear
in the rearview mirror. We wait; and God
says, wait patiently!
As if waiting isn’t enough, we’re to be patient too!
So, that brings us to Advent. A
planned season of waiting. We get to
burn one candle at a time, with a week in between increasing the light and
warmth.
I admit, I’m not a good waiter. The
last thing I want to do when I boot up my computer each morning is wait for the
sign-on page. I want to turn it on and
get going. I’ve got deadlines, tasks to accomplish,
people to call, and another report to file for the paper monsters at
Conference. Who wants to sit and wait?
And God said…if it seems slow in coming, be patient, hang-in with
me, it will surely happen.
I have no doubts about God’s motives, plans, and ways being much higher
than my pay grade, but that somehow doesn’t make me a patient waiter. I couldn’t be patient for that driver’s
license when I was 16 so I could have the freedom of driving without a chaperone,
or graduation day so I could get out on my own, or for that first child to get
here, or that pastor search committee to make up its mind….
Waiting ain’t pretty!
And God said, be patient.
And he gave us Advent to savor the waiting time.
Frankly, waiting for the future to get here is part of the ride. On a longish trip I always want to keep track
of how long I’ve got to go before I get there.
The GPS on my phone keeps track for me, and I look at the ETA (estimated
time of arrival) as if to make sure I don’t get there too late. That’s not patience; it’s the opposite! Its anxiety produced by impatience. Instead of enjoying the scenery on the trip I
manage to transform a time of waiting into a time of personal torture.
The unanswered questions of life, about why some babies die, or why typhoons,
tsunamis, and mudslides take out thousands of homes and people, or why God
doesn’t do something about injustice and oppression…all these are tied to Advent,
and waiting on the Lord’s definition of the “fullness” of time.
For You Today
The
apostle Paul reminds us that some things are worth waiting for:
But when the right time came, God sent his Son…. Galatians 4:4a
So,
Habakkuk, what are YOU waiting for…go spread that news…plainly!
Title image, Pixabay.com and W Unless noted, Scripture quoted from The New Living Translation©
For other posts on Waiting patiently see: Waiting and
How Long O Lord?
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