Waiting Game

When the time arrived for Elizabeth to have her child she gave birth to a son. 

Waiting.   We are not very good at that.   Everyone seems to be waiting.   Children waiting on their parents.   Travelers wait at airports.   We even wait in line to go to Confession!   But nobody understands waiting better than a couple expecting a baby—especially if they have been waiting a long time.

Elizabeth and Zechariah had waited years for a child: years filled with hope and humiliation, desire and disappointment.   How difficult that must have been!   Even after Elizabeth conceived, they had to wait and trust the Lord for a safe delivery. Finally, “when the time arrived,” John was born; their waiting was over.

If only it were that simple for me! we might think.   I’m still waiting.   Maybe we’re waiting for a job, a spouse, or a child.   We might be waiting for a healing, for a reconciliation, or for a loved one to return.   How long will it take for God to give me an answer?   So we wait and try to trust.   And, as we wait, we can pray with the psalmist,

Our soul waits for the Lord,
he is our help and shield.

Even as we are waiting for God to act, he is waiting with us as well.   He is always by our side, offering us his grace and his consolation.   He knows when the time is right to give us what we need, and he knows how difficult it can be for us to wait for everything he wants to give us.   And so he stays by our side, reassuring us that he will not leave us or forget us.

You may have a noisy, full house with many tasks left to finish.   Or you may be alone and wonder if God has forgotten you.   He hasn’t.   He is waiting in the quiet of the manger.   He is waiting in the silence of your home.   He is waiting in the stillness of the tabernacle.   He waits to share your joys and your sorrows, to steady your heart as you wait and trust in his faithfulness.   Go to your Father.   He is already there, waiting for you.

word among us