WAIT? WAIT!

Isaiah 40:28-31
Exodus 32:1-8




The chorus of Greg Brown's song, "Waiting," goes like this:

"Everybody just a-waitin' an' a-waitin'
Everybody just a-waitin' an' a-waitin'
Everybody just a-waitin' an' a waitin' and a-waitin'
Everybody just waitin' their time away"

It's true.  We do spend a lot of our time waiting.  For example, each year, we spend 72 hours on hold and 38 hours waiting in traffic.  Waiting in line is one thing, but waiting upon the Lord is totally another.

There are times in our lives when waiting tries our patience, like waiting in doctors' offices or traveling, especially with children -- "are we there yet?"  But when we're waiting to hear news that might possibly be bad, or uncertain of the future, or sitting by the bedside of our dying loved one, waiting can almost be unbearable.  These are the kinds of times that stress us out and make us anxious.

That was how the Israelites were feeling as they camped near Mt. Sinai and waited and waited and waited for Moses to come down off the mountain.  As they watched the lightening and heard the thunder rolling off Mt Sinai as it was engulfed in smoke, they were afraid and feeling more anxious by the hour.  If Moses didn't return, were they going to perish in the wilderness?  Who was going to lead them?  

Rather than putting their trust in God, they decided they were going to solve the problem themselves.

The more anxious we become, the more reactive we are, and the more likely we are to take matters into our own hands.  We jump at quick fixes that really don't solve the problem or return to old coping behaviors which no longer work.

So taking some of the gold that their Egyptian neighbors had given the Hebrew people before they left Egypt, Aaron made an idol, a golden calf, for the people to worship.  If only they had waited ...

Wait for the Lord -- actively seeking God's will.  It is a time when we are intently and intentionally listening and looking for confirmation of where God is leading us.  When we wait for the Lord, we aren't wasting our time, energy and resources on quick fixes or solutions that are no longer relevant.  

Wait on the Lord -- means waiting for God, not giving in to impatience or anxiety and getting in God's way or ahead of God.  Waiting on someone also means serving them.  As Christians, we are called to serve the mission of God, to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the World.  As servants of Christ, we carry on the ministry of Jesus by serving others:  sharing Christ's love in relevant ways and inviting others to discover a relationship with God through Jesus.  

Wait upon the Lord -- found in Isaiah 40:28-31, the meaning for the original audience can be found found in a vineyard.

For a grape vine to thrive and bear fruit, it needs to grow on some sort of support, off the ground.  That can be a tree or a pergola or wires strung between posts, such as you find in a vineyard.  

To wait upon the Lord means that we as individuals and as the church need to be like grapevines with God as the support that allows us to thrive and be fruitful.  

When we put the full weight of our needs, our worries and even our future on God, in our weakness, we find that there is more than enough love and power to sustain us during the waiting times, and more enough peace of mind and heart to hear and see God at work for our good.  There is more than enough guidance, resources and courage to be the living and serving presence of Christ.

If we wait upon the Lord, we can wait for the Lord and wait on the Lord.

"They that wait upon the Lord
Shall renew their strength.
They shall mount up on wings
Like eagles.
They shall run and not grow weary.
They shall walk and not grow faint.
Teach us, Lord.
Teach us, Lord, to wait.

("They That Wait Upon the Lord" by Stuart Hamblen)