Three Ways to Wait Well
The Waiting Day. The Silent Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. We know the rest of the story, we sit on the other side, so our waiting is different. Many of us can't wait to sing out and celebrate that our God is very, very alive.
But those who witnessed the lynching of Jesus? I wonder what self-talk they had going on. What internal emotional stress, burden, anger, and self defeat? How was their inner dialogue going for them?
And aren't we there many days? In our own Waiting Day? Caught between the Already But Not Yet of it all. Between Eden and Heaven. Between what was and what can be. Between fear and faith. Between death and life.
So how do we wait well?
1. Remember the past to have hope for the future.
Often the best way to wait is to look back and see all the goodness in your path. All the beauty. All the ways God provided for you. God was good yesterday and He will still be good tomorrow. Today, we will count on the goodness we have known before, and trust in the goodness to come. The Israelites faced a dead end situation: The Red Sea in front of them and the Egyptians chasing behind them. But if God set them free, He would provide the path. And an unlikely parted sea-path He did. Don’t forget to look back and see who God is and what He has done over all of your years and through all your tears.
2. Keep your chin up and practice thankfulness.
There is always something to thankful for. In “This Is Us,” Rebecca found ways to laugh each anniversary of Jack's death. She expected to laugh right next to grief. She looked for ways to be thankful. Let’s keep our chin up and find gifts. Maybe it’s a simple sunset. Or an extra half hour nap from your toddler. Or a friend sending a message at the perfect time. There are gifts in every nook and cranny of our life. Let's be willing to pick our head up, look, and say thank you.
3. Face forward as we wait.
Even when we are frustrated, confused, impatient, sinful, sassy, jealous, or rude in our waiting—do it all facing God. Many of the famous men and women in the Bible complained in bitterness. But they complained to God, not away from Him. They faced forward in fellowship. They wrote psalms and laments crying out to God. They kept the relationship open, even in grief. This matters. This is communication. This is a divine difference. This is life with God.
May we wait, chin up and head held high in confidence and grace and mercy. Tomorrow, on Easter, we will celebrate that His grace is enough. That hope wins. That love covers. That mercy reigns. He is absolutely in The Waiting Day.