WAITING

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In my office, I have a poster of a soaring eagle with this verse from Isaiah:

   But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength;
They shall mount up with wings like eagles,
They shall run and not be weary,
They shall walk and not faint.   Isaiah 40:31 NKJ
   
      According to Greg Brown, singer and song writer, "everybody just been a-waitin' " for something.   Some are waiting for a bus, the revelation of the secret of life, a new job or a visit from an old friend.  He's right - we're all waiting for something.

Me, I'm waiting for Sunday when I can officially announce to you and my family in Michigan what churches I'll be serving come July 1. I'm sorting, packing and waiting for the moving van to come.

Like everyone else, I'm waiting for that check from the US government.  We're waiting for the time when social distancing, latex gloves and face masks are a thing of the past.  Problem is, we just don't know when that will be.  Continued uncertainty and what seems like endless waiting can make a soul weary.

In a play by Samuel Beckett, Waiting for Godot, the two main characters, Didi and Gogo, wait and wait for the arrival of someone named Godot.  Godot never shows up.  That's one of the disappointments of life -- something or someone we're waiting for doesn't show up.  But that doesn't stop us from waiting.

 In the Old Testament book of Job, Job struggles with his three well-meaning friends and their bad theology.  He asks for only this: a revelation of God and his justice and truth.  Unlike Godot, God does show up.  

 God always shows up.  To the people of Israel who were waiting in captivity in a foreign land, and to us who may feel like our lives are being held captive by the COVID-19 pandemic, God has this promise for us.  

 "For surely I know the plans I have for you, says the Lord, plans for your welfare and not for harm, to give you a future with hope. Then when you call upon me and come and pray to me, I will hear you.  When you search for me, you will find me; if you seek me with all your heart, I will let you find me, says the Lord, and I will restore your fortunes and gather you from all the nations and all the places where I have driven you, says the Lord, and I will bring you back to the place from which I sent you into exile."    (Jeremiah 29:11-14, NRSV)

 And for the weariness we may experience while we wait for God,  there is another kind of waiting:  waiting on (or upon) the Lord.

 It seems to me that Isaiah 40:31 is the perfect verse for these times.  To wait on or wait upon in the context of this verse means to lean on or put your weight upon someone or something else.  To wait on the Lord means to fully depend upon God, to let God be our strength, to allow God to do the heavy lifting.   That's what Jesus is inviting us to do in the Gospel of Matthew:

 “Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.  Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”  (Matthew 11:28-30, NRSV)

 When we give our burdens and allow Christ to guide us, we are empowered to journey through the waiting times with endurance and confidence.  And we will find strength and rest for our souls.

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