Hello my friends! It’s the eve of one of Christendom’s most significant days, Good Friday. In honour of that, I wanted to share some thoughts on waiting (along with the vintage Easter dress I was planning to wear this year). What does Easter have to do with waiting? Quite a lot, actually.
Here’s what Easter teaches us about waiting.
1. Waiting is the heartbeat of human existence.
Have you ever wondered how Jesus felt when He woke up in the morning? Did He count down the days and months and years until Calvary? Did His heart yearn for the Father and long for Heaven’s courts?
Jesus waited for 33 years to die.
That’s a long time. Longer than most of us wait for something.
We wait for jobs and rings and babies. We wait for surgeries and vacations and chicken to go on sale.
With all this waiting we have to do, we should learn how to do it right. How to do it happily. How to do it without losing our minds. How to do it productively.
2. We need to seek God as we wait.
And that is the secret. In Jesus’ years of waiting, He didn’t muscle through with sheer willpower.
Instead, He was constantly seeking His Father and turning to Him. He spent hours on a hillside praying. He read the Scriptures. He didn’t give up when He faced persecution, sorrow, and heartrending pain.
If the Son of God needed to seek His Father, how much more do we!
And maybe this is part of the purpose of waiting. To see how much we need God. To lean hard on Him. To leave all that we cannot control in His capable hands.
When we seek God, we will find the strength and peace we so need.
3. Waiting can feel lonely, but we are never alone.
After His death, Jesus lay in the tomb for 3 long days. Without human comfort, without angels to minister to Him, He was all alone.
Often, in our waiting, we feel alone. We feel that maybe God has forgotten about us. Maybe we messed up too badly. Maybe He really doesn’t love us anymore.
But wait…we know how the story ends.
God had not forsaken Jesus.
On the third day, He came back to glorious life and ascended to His Father in Heaven. Then, He returned to earth to comfort His followers and walk with them for 40 more days.
Even when we cannot feel God’s presence, He is still there. Hebrew 13:5b reminds us, “…For he hath said, I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee.”
Never forget that He is with you. You are not alone.
4. Waiting on God will have a sweet reward.
Often, we don’t truly value what comes easily. But, when we have waited and prayed and sweated, the answer is that much sweeter.
Jesus waited over 3 decades to die. Then He waited 3 days to rise from the dead. Can you imagine the joy that must have filled His heart when He finally walked out of the tomb?
In that moment, He could see far more than two shining angels in white. He could see beyond the Jerusalem cemetery and the blue, blue skies.
I think Jesus could see the faces of the boys and girls, men and women, from every tribe and tongue that would someday be saved. He knew the sorrow and sin they would be saved from. He understood the punishment they would escape in hell. He could hear their songs of praise and prayers of thanksgiving. And it gladdened His heart.
This was the joy set before Him (Hebrews 12:2). And it was sweet indeed.
When you’re waiting on God, look forward to His answer with joy. And thank Him for what He is going to do!
Let’s Chat:
Have you struggled with waiting on God? If so, what has helped you learn to wait on God? I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments!
love,
Claudine
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