The Waiting Game

I'm not very good at waiting.

Honestly, there are few things I hate more.

Going to the bank on my lunch hour makes me cringe, because I know how many people will be standing in that line.

Traffic stresses me out- which I'm pretty sure is one of the main reasons I moved out of Atlanta.

And I know I grow several grey hairs and overwork my gmail account by constantly checking my email after any kind of interview.

To me, waiting equals time lost.

Waiting is a punishment.

And so often, when it comes to the waiting we have to do in our life,

Waiting to meet that special someone,

Waiting to get that right job,

Waiting to have that child,

I think we view it as a a waste of precious time,

A punishment from the Lord.

I know I've often looked at my singleness through this lens.

"Think about all the memories we already could have shared if we had been that couple that met in high school,

Or college."

"Think about all those years that will be wasted, years not spent together."

And often, that kind of thinking starts to taint my picture of God,

And my understanding of His Love.

So, today, as I was reading a story in the Bible I've read so many times before,

One simple word caused me to step back,

And try and really see what God might be doing in this waiting.

Many of you have heard the story of Lazarus.

Lazarus, who was the brother of Mary and Martha was one of Jesus' best friends.

The Bible actually refers to Lazarus at "the one who Jesus loves".

Jesus had dined with Mary, Martha and Lazarus,

Rested with them,

Probably spent hours sitting around a table, talking and laughing.

So when Lazarus got deathly ill, Mary and Martha thought to send word to Jesus.

"Jesus, the one you love is sick".

And  when Jesus heard this He responded,

"This sickness will not end in death. No it is for God's glory so that God's Son may be glorified through it".

And so Jesus stayed where He was.

He stayed put for two days.

And Lazarus died.

And, of course, Jesus returned to Lazarus' home and raised him from the dead shortly there after.

But if you were to just look at this first part of the story, it would be really easy to look at Jesus as heartless.

Why, when He could have saved Lazarus, did he wait and allow him to die?

Why did he cause Lazarus to suffer?

Why did he allow Mary and Martha to grieve for their only brother?

It sounds horribly cruel, unless you take the time to really look at two verses.

Really, one word in these two verses.

"Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So when he heard that Lazarus was sick, he stayed where he was for two more days."

So.

That one little word changed the way I looked at this story, and the way I choose to look at my life.

Jesus' waiting was not a response of punishment.

No, Jesus' waiting was a response of love.

A response of knowing that what they were going to see,

What they were going to experience,

Would be so much greater then what they could even imagine.

Sure, He could have ran to Lazarus and healed him before He died.

But He was giving Lazarus, and Mary and Martha,

The chance to play an even bigger part in this story,

A chance to witness one of the greatest miracles He ever would perform.

A chance to really see, and experience the saving grace of Jesus.

So today, I'm choosing to look at the waiting in my life as the same.

A response of love.

A response of knowing that what I am going to see,

What I am going to experience,

Is so much greater then what I could have ever imagined.

That this time of waiting,

And anytime of waiting from here on out,

Is a response of love,

And a chance to really see,

And really experience,

The saving grace of Jesus.