I’m sitting at OR Tambo International Airport, waiting for my flight back home. And I’m thinking about my hatred of waiting. I think to what degree my actions are determined by my desire to do things as quickly as possible; avoiding as much fuss as possible. The airline is Safair, reputedly the least delayed airline in the world. We checked in online, to save time and bother. When queuing, I have carefully studied the four lines, figuring out which will be quickest. The lines must keep moving! Then we have booked seats right at the back of the aircraft. These are for a quick getaway after landing. And, of course, we only have hand-luggage. Who in their right mind wants to watch the stupid carousel going round and round?
I don’t want to wait. Waiting is pure agony.
I Have the Need for Speed
My issues with time seem to be typical of the Western world. Time is precious. Time is money, say the experts. Waiting is therefore a waste of time and money. “Quick and easy” are two words with enormous seductive, even magical, powers. How can we ‘do life,’ maximising it with the least fuss and bother? We have fast food, eating meals on the run or in our cars. We covet huge internet speeds. Every fix must be instant. The latest diet promises incredible results with minimal effort. The self-help bestselling book is subtitled: Discover Yourself in Less Than 30 Minutes.
‘Make life happen, don’t let it happen to you.’ The real thing is the next thing, we want to live from peak event to peak event. Eat dessert first! When life gets very tough, skip the unpleasantries and take instant gratification. Forget the potatoes, go straight for the ice cream. ‘Just do it!’ What are you waiting for? One life, live it! Carpe Diem. There is something appealing about these slogans. Yet there is also something potentially very misleading.
Robust faith can’t be microwaved!
As usual, the church follows the world. It simply rebrands the psychobabble: “Simple devotions for the busy Christian;” “Quick sermons for the over-worked pastor;” “Five keys to spiritual victory;” “Three Steps to Holiness.” But those titles are false. They’re dangerous! Robust faith can’t be microwaved!
Churches are filled up with people looking for rapid, painless paths to change and growth. Congregants are given formulaic answers and offered express spirituality; a trite, formulaic, and franchised faith. The world has McDonald’s. So the church offers McFaith. We want shortcuts, comfortable answers to vexing problems. We have been seduced by the instantaneous; we’re in grave danger of losing our ability to wait.
God Works In Our Waiting
“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him” (Psalm 37:7). Most of us recognise that verse, possibly because it was hanging from a tapestry in some church you once visited. Yet I am yet to hear a decent exposition it. Mea culpa. I’ve preached for over 25 years. Yet there it is, clear as day. “Wait.” “Be still.”
‘Wait.’ ‘Be still.’ Surely these are some of the most neglected and disobeyed biblical commands.
Surely these are some of the most widely neglected and frequently disobeyed biblical commands. Loadshedding has had devastating consequences in South Africa. The challenge of loadshedding is not just: how do I prepare a meal tonight; or how will the kids do their homework? It’s this. How do we spend the next 3 hours? No noise. No distractions. We are compelled to face ourselves, to consider our inner emptiness, the pain of self-confrontation.
The Bible is rich in language urging us to wait. The verb translated “wait” occurs no less than 49 times in the Old Testament. Consider another line from the Psalms. “My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning” (Psalm 130:6). Biblical waiting is not inactivity. It’s certainly not marking time, as one might do at the airport. Waiting is positive, purposeful, and spiritual.
Learning While We Wait
25 years. 9125 days. That’s how long Abraham waited between hearing God’s promise and holding his beloved Isaac (Genesis 12:4; 21:5). Yet Abraham did not feel sorry for himself. He didn’t confine himself to his tent, and philosophise about the meaning of life. No! He worshipped God. He prayed. Abraham served his family and organised his servants. He cared for his livestock. He remained committed and faithful, and he hoped in God’s promise. Like father, like sons. The children of Abraham are a waiting people.
There is both purpose and tremendous benefits to being in God’s school of waiting. For waiting:
- Is a stark reminder that we are not in control of things. This is very positive. Trying to be master of your own life will prove to be exhausting.
- Calls for honesty. It involves facing up to, and confessing, the struggles, pain, and doubts of our own hearts.
- Is a God-centred activity. It’s not simply introspection. Its always waiting on the Lord.
- Develops faith. Alicia Akins says that waiting is not the gap between blessings—it’s their incubator. It tutors us in the way of faith (2 Corinthians 5:7). Waiting invites us to retrace the well-worn paths of grace back to a bloody cross and empty tomb.
- Points us to kingdom dynamics. The kingdom of God is a radical reversal of all earthly kingdoms. It’s counter-intuitive. There is nothing like it! The tiniest seed is planted. And nothing happens! And still nothing happens. False! Stuff is happening, beneath the ground. Beneath the ground there are forces that no earthly power will ever terminate (Mark 4:31).
- Is a cosmic thing. It’s woven into the fabric of our existence. We’re not where we were, and we’re not where we shall be. The kingdom has come. But it’s still to be consummated. “For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed” (Romans 8:19 ). We live between the ages.
Do You Have a Plan?
So we must follow Jesus while we wait. Keep repenting and believing. Continue loving your family. Serve his church and spread his fame. Bless your neighbours. “Saltify” your turf. Wait well. Don’t waste it. “They who wait for the LORD shall renew their strength…they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). I wait. And while I do so I’m going to follow Luther’s counsel; I’m off to plant a tree.
