Love divine, all loves excelling, joy of heaven, to earth come down, fix in us thy humble dwelling, all thy faithful mercies crown. Jesus, thou art all compassion, pure, unbounded love thou art; visit us with thy salvation, enter every trembling heart.
Come, almighty to deliver, let us all thy life receive; suddenly return, and never, nevermore thy temples leave. Thee we would be always blessing, serve thee as thy hosts above, pray, and praise thee without ceasing, glory in thy perfect love.
Finish then thy new creation; pure and spotless let us be; let us see thy great salvation perfectly restored in thee: changed from glory into glory, till in heaven we take our place, till we cast our crowns before thee, lost in wonder, love, and praise. - Charles Wesley
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait on the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
This morning I find myself waiting. I am not very patient, God. Waiting is hard. It seems I've spent half my life waiting, and I would have thought it would be easier by now. It isn't.
I look out the window to see beautiful snow blanketing the ground and sparkling in the sun. If it were January I'd be appreciating it. This morning it serves as one more reminder of waiting. I am waiting, with a deep longing that only those who live in cold climates can understand, for warmth, for color, for growth.
I am waiting for the weekend about to commence--a weekend in which I will face a deeply bittersweet set of circumstances. I want to hope for the best. Dare I? I will be happy if I make it through without crying--but surely there is more than that in this wait?
I am waiting to hear from the church who is considering calling me as their pastor. The process has been unreasonably long, and that is putting it kindly. It makes me wonder if I should just stop waiting and sell insurance.
And all of these "waits" seem to go on and on.
I am wondering, Jesus, in this waiting season leading to Holy Week and our celebrations on Easter Sunday morning, how was it for you to wait? To wait for Mary and Joseph to understand, to wait for the day when your siblings would know who you were, to wait for that crew of your friends called disciples to finally...get it. To wait, at the last meal you shared with them, for the one who would betray you to disappear into the night. To wait in the garden for the horror that was about to commence. To wait on the cross until, somehow, it was finished. To wait--where were you, really?--for resurrection and renewed life, validation, glorious hope and then a return to whence you came?
I am not patient, Jesus. This morning I ask for grace to wait in hope. I ask that for others who may pray along with me today, others who are in a long season of waiting, of wondering, of waning to hope but not being certain they can. Help us, Lord, in your mercy and by your grace, to wait.
Amen
If you' like, you can listen to a little gospel music this morning.
Are you finding yourself in need of some moments of peace and quiet? Feeling heavy-hearted, I found this to be what my heart needed.
Lord, we ask you, as we listen to the music of this familiar prayer, to bring peace to stessful minds and hearts, solace and comfort to those who are grieving, hope to those who are longing for encouragment. Holy is your name.
