In the Waiting
The story of the Prodigal Son Is one of my favorites. It is so rich in meaning. For a long time, I missed much of the meaning by not knowing the customs of the people in the time that Jesus walked the earth. Understanding the culture and context enriches the meaning significantly. As I was thinking about this story, God dropped a question in my spirit, “What about the waiting?” And that one caught me off guard. I’ve often briefly pictured the father watching and waiting. I’ve pictured him running to meet his son to keep him safe from villagers who would have rejected and banished the son. But the “waiting” has never been a place that I really paused and pondered.
As I have taken time to ponder it, I see the father who keeps looking for his son every day, maybe 2-3 times or more each day. Every day. Take some time and let that sink in. We don’t know how long he waited. I think I’ve minimized it in my mind, because waiting can be so hard. I don’t want to think about a father who waits months, or maybe even years. That’s just too painful. We want quick resolution, or at least I do. So, when I think about it and realize that all we know is that he waited, I catch my breath, wondering how long.
Often this is the place we think about God waiting for us. And that’s a good place. But what about when we must wait for things that matter so very much? The father didn’t know when, or if, his son would return. Nevertheless, he continued to wait, watching day after day. We don’t know how long he had to wait; we just know that he did. He didn’t lose hope. I’m sure he experienced disappointment, hoping and believing that today would be the day his son returned, only to go to bed at night having to accept that today wasn’t the day. Yet he woke up the next morning ready to hope and believe again.
Don’t miss what he didn’t do in the waiting. He didn’t go and try to find his son and drag him back home. He released his son freely and waited for his son to return of his own free will. He kept looking, every day. I think, I would have wanted to go and find my child, to convince him that he needed to return home and to try to assert my will over his. I don’t know that I would have waited like the father did.
But as I have pondered the waiting, I hope that I can learn to wait like that. I want to lean into wisdom that comes from God, rather than trying to control and to manipulate the situation to turn out like I believe it should. In other words, I don’t need to help God out. Instead, I want to hold onto hope and be faithful in the waiting, to trust God and His timing, to wait so that I can hear Him and see when the answer is on the horizon, and to be able to recognize when that thing that has been so painful is turning around. I don’t want to miss when God answers the waiting.
What are you waiting for today? And how are you waiting? My prayer for you and for me is that we can lean into the words of the psalmist.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits. And in His word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5).
I encourage you today, in whatever you’re waiting for, to take some time to examine how you are waiting. Where is your hope? Is it in the one who is faithful? Then make sure to spend some time in His word to strengthen that hope.
As I have taken time to ponder it, I see the father who keeps looking for his son every day, maybe 2-3 times or more each day. Every day. Take some time and let that sink in. We don’t know how long he waited. I think I’ve minimized it in my mind, because waiting can be so hard. I don’t want to think about a father who waits months, or maybe even years. That’s just too painful. We want quick resolution, or at least I do. So, when I think about it and realize that all we know is that he waited, I catch my breath, wondering how long.
Often this is the place we think about God waiting for us. And that’s a good place. But what about when we must wait for things that matter so very much? The father didn’t know when, or if, his son would return. Nevertheless, he continued to wait, watching day after day. We don’t know how long he had to wait; we just know that he did. He didn’t lose hope. I’m sure he experienced disappointment, hoping and believing that today would be the day his son returned, only to go to bed at night having to accept that today wasn’t the day. Yet he woke up the next morning ready to hope and believe again.
Don’t miss what he didn’t do in the waiting. He didn’t go and try to find his son and drag him back home. He released his son freely and waited for his son to return of his own free will. He kept looking, every day. I think, I would have wanted to go and find my child, to convince him that he needed to return home and to try to assert my will over his. I don’t know that I would have waited like the father did.
But as I have pondered the waiting, I hope that I can learn to wait like that. I want to lean into wisdom that comes from God, rather than trying to control and to manipulate the situation to turn out like I believe it should. In other words, I don’t need to help God out. Instead, I want to hold onto hope and be faithful in the waiting, to trust God and His timing, to wait so that I can hear Him and see when the answer is on the horizon, and to be able to recognize when that thing that has been so painful is turning around. I don’t want to miss when God answers the waiting.
What are you waiting for today? And how are you waiting? My prayer for you and for me is that we can lean into the words of the psalmist.
I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits. And in His word I put my hope. (Psalm 130:5).
I encourage you today, in whatever you’re waiting for, to take some time to examine how you are waiting. Where is your hope? Is it in the one who is faithful? Then make sure to spend some time in His word to strengthen that hope.
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1 Comment
That’s so good AND so true