“But those who wait upon God get fresh strength. They spread their wings and soar like eagles, They run and don’t get tired, they walk and don’t lag behind” (Isaiah 40:31, MSG).

     I am not a patient person by nature. I don’t enjoy waiting. In our society, waiting is for people of lesser means. Some can pay an additional fee to walk to the head of the line to ride the roller coaster at Kings Island. The rest of us have to hold our tongues as these folks slip past us.

     I like the philosophy of Larry the Cable Guy: “Just get ‘er done”—that is until the moment my wife asks me to take out the trash. So, when Isaiah claims that “those who wait upon God get fresh strength” (40:31, NRSV), I want to say, “Who are you trying to kid?” It feels as though waiting drains me of too many emotions, patience being chief among them.

     One of the reasons I don’t like to wait is that waiting reminds me that I am not in control of everything in my life. In fact, the older I get the more I realize that I am in control of very little, with the exception of self-control. Even then I have to rely on God’s Spirit in order to bridle my emotional outbursts.

     However, what if waiting is one of God’s good gifts to us? Waiting prompts us to depend upon God more and dependence upon God is a critical aspect of faith. Faith is a matter of trusting that God knows better than I do. God sees the future more clearly than I do. God is a greater source of strength than I am. The Apostle Paul made the amazing claim that God’s power is made perfect in our weakness (see 2 Corinthians 12:9-10).

     So, the next time you find yourself waiting in traffic or waiting to open your Christmas presents or even waiting for your spouse to take out the trash, you might want to offer a word of thanksgiving for the privilege God is giving to you. In the instances in which you find yourself not in control, you just may discover a divinely-appointed gift of strength that will carry you further in life than you ever could have gone on your own.

Prayer

Lord God, thank you for the strength you offer to me in my greatest moments of weakness. Help me during this season of Advent to take charge of the matters over which I control and to turn over to you the circumstances beyond my control. Through Christ I pray. Amen.