Vol. 16 No. 34 | August 26, 2013
From our perspective waiting is misery. From traffic jams to school drop-off and pick-up lanes, from doctors’ offices to hospital waiting rooms, from wedding days to birth dates, and from coffee shops to our favorite restaurants, we have a hard time waiting. We get frustrated. We feel forgotten. We wonder if we are being ignored. We assume nobody cares…including God. Waiting is misery. Yet, as I wrote last week, while we are waiting we sometimes discover it can be very meaningful and serve an important purpose. Sometimes. Most of the time it is misery. That is from our perspective.
What about from the other side…God’s side? How does He feel when we ignore Him? Is He hurt, insulted, or feel betrayed when we fail to communicate with Him? Does God assume the worst about us when He does not hear from us as often as and in ways that He expects or prefers? What does He think when hours turn into days that turn into weeks that turn into months that turn into years without hearing from us? What does God do when we seem far away and distant and uninterested?
Isaiah seems to indicate that when God is waiting on us He is making plans to bless us:
A thousand will flee
at the threat of one;
at the threat of five
you will all flee away,
till you are left
like a flagstaff on a mountaintop,
like a banner on a hill.Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you;
therefore he will rise up to show you compassion.
For the Lord is a God of justice.
Blessed are all who wait for him!People of Zion, who live in Jerusalem, you will weep no more. How gracious he will be when you cry for help! As soon as he hears, he will answer you.
(Isaiah 30:17-19)
Don’t miss this: “He longs to be gracious to you; he will rise up to show you compassion.” And, “As soon as he hears, he will answer you.”
Luke seems to indicate that when God is waiting on us He is longing to see us and celebrate with us.
But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.
The son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’
But the father said to his servants, ‘Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him. Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let’s have a feast and celebrate. For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.’ So they began to celebrate.
(Luke 15:20-24)
When the son “came to his senses” the father responded with open, gracious and loving arms. He was not angry. He did not lecture. He did not remind him of his mistakes. He did not demand repayment for all that he had wasted.
That is not how we normally think about waiting, is it? Is it possible that as we go through a period of waiting, God is longing for us as much, possibly more, than we are longing for Him? Is it possible that instead of being angry and impatient and offended and justified for feeling those things, that I could be relieved of those feelings if I could imagine God putting up decorations for our welcome home party? Is it possible that during those days and nights when I am wondering if God has forgotten me, or ignoring me, or neglecting me, I try to see Him as thinking that I have forgotten Him, or ignoring Him, or neglecting my relationship with Him and waiting for me to remember Him?
I suspect it is not only possible, but likely.
Father, let’s get together and have a party.
Tom
© Copyright 2013 Tom Norvell. All rights reserved.