Psalm 27:14- “Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.”

For generations, Israel awaited a Savior, the Messiah prophesied by the prophets and promised from the beginning. In the gap between the Old and New Testament, Israel endured four centuries of silence. God was working, without a doubt, but Israel lived in a desert, spiritually speaking. But in the silent waiting period, God molded the world into the world that would fulfill all He said would come true.

Woven throughout the entire Bible, we see a long history of waiting.

Hannah endured years of infertility before God blessed her with Samuel. Sarah was childless in her old age when God gave her Isaac. The Israelites wandered decades in the wilderness before stepping foot in Canaan. And the list goes on and on.

If anyone understood the wait, it was Simeon. The Holy Spirit revealed to him that he would not taste death until he beheld Jesus, the consolation of Israel. Simeon faithfully waited until the Promise would be fulfilled. When Mary and Joseph finally placed baby Jesus, God in the flesh, in his hands, every minute of wait was consummated with overwhelming joy as he took the child in his arms proclaiming, “Sovereign LORD, as you have promised, you may now dismiss your servant in peace, for my eyes have seen your salvation…” (Luke 2:29-30).

Anna’s story epitomizes patience in waiting. Widowed for 84 years, she never left the temple, but worshiped, prayed, and fasted day and night. After years of waiting, God rewarded her patience and allowed her to see the Redemption of Israel in the form of a child.

In life, waiting is inevitable. We all wait and we all know that life does not operate by our itinerary. When we want to move, we are often called to wait. Life rushes by at a dizzying pace, yet some things are so slow in coming.

When we want things to move, we do all in our power to have our way when all we can do is w…a…i…t. We must wait in faith, knowing that what God will accomplish for us will exceed our momentary affliction. (2 Corinthians 4:16-18). Because in the waiting, He molds in us what we could receive in no other way. Warriors are formed in the waiting.

Know that there is a purpose in our waiting, for “God works all things together for the good of those who love Him and are called according to His Purpose.” (Romans 8:28). C.S. Lewis says that “I am sure that God keeps no one waiting unless He sees that it is good for him to wait.”

As a runner runs his race knowing the finish is soon ahead, so we run the course set before us with diligence. We do not remain stagnant while we wait, but we grow towards what lies ahead. Plants, after all, grow before the harvest, not during.

Creation groans in waiting for Redemption, but the Promise will come. As a bride waits for her groom, we wait for the One who will bring us home.

Until our faith reaches its fruition, we will wait. And by faith, we will continue to wait. Because He is so worth it.

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

"For our light and momentary struggles are achieving for us an eternal glory that outweighs them all." (2 Corinthians 4:17)