How to Wait

We spend most of our time waiting.  The best moments of our lives pass quickly, as do the worst moments.  The rest of the time, we are waiting.  It would behoove us to learn how to wait.

Here are two things not to do as we wait.  The first is to try to distract ourselves.  Some are genteel in their approach.  They will visit this location and attend that event and do everything they can to not think about whatever looms in their future.  Other have a more toxic approach, like drug and alcohol addiction.  Either way. they are going through life distraction.  The second thing not to do as we wait is to be weighed down by anxiety.  An obsession with whatever it is you are waiting for diminishes your life and makes you unavailable to whatever and whoever is around you.  Jesus said, “Be on guard so that your hearts are not weighed down with dissipation and drunkenness and the worries of this life.”  Distraction and anxiety.  Those are the two ways not to wait.

Here are two things to do as we wait.  The first is to pray.  Jesus said, “Be alert at all times, praying that you may have the strength to escape all these things that will take place, and to stand before the son of man.”  When you are praying, your mind can’t be on other things.  When you are self-consciously in the presence of God, you are not going to be waiting in a way you should not be waiting.   The second thing to do is to be ready.  We usually know how things are going to work out, more or less.  What we don’t know is the timing.  We know we are going to have some successes in life.  We know we are going to have some setbacks.  We just don’t know when.  There is no reason to be taken by surprise by something we know is going to happen sooner of later.  Praying and being ready are the two ways to wait.

In our sermon this Sunday we will be talking about how to wait.