Waiting Shapes You as a Christian

The whole world is now well accustomed to “waiting.” For some of us, it’s something that hasn’t happened in a good long while – we have lived not waiting for the internet; not waiting for the movie; not waiting for the food. But now we have been reacquainted with what it means to be stationary. To sit. To be still. And news flash here:

We do not like it.

Of all people, though, Christians ought to be the most comfortable with waiting. That’s because “waiting” is something we are really doing all the time. For most people, “waiting” is just a means to an end. You bide your time until the waiting is over, and you get the meal you ordered or the promotion that you’re due. But for the Christian, waiting is not just a temporary time; it’s a perpetual state. Our whole identity, in a way, is built around waiting, for we are the people who believe in things that we cannot see. That are not readily apparent. That are coming, and yet have not yet come. To be a Christian means to be someone who waits, whether we like it or not.

Because we are Christians, we are also people who wait. But also as Christians, we should be uniquely positioned to understand the value in waiting. We should know that even though it seems like nothing is happening, God is busy in us as we wait. Waiting, in fact, is one of the most formative times in our lives. And while it is not only impossible but also arrogant to say for sure exactly what God is doing in our souls as we wait, we can describe, I think, some general ways that waiting shapes us into the people God intends for us to be.... Read More