Waiting Patiently
by John Berry
We recently took a group from Glyndley Manor in our minibus to a large Christian event. We were a bit rushed as we first had to finish our work before departing, and the event had begun before we left for the 50 minute journey! All was going well until we met the queue about 3 miles from the entrance, and then we crawled along for almost 2 hours until we were able to get in.
The team were in good heart, but it was hot, and we got a bit frustrated. There was nothing we could do except wait – no other route to travel, no way back and the tickets were paid for. Some of the team decided to walk and get there quicker, but as soon as they alighted from the bus, the queue speeded up and they had to run to catch us up again! The wait was worth it eventually, and all the team had a great time.
It made me think of the words of Scripture which encourage us to wait on the Lord. How often we cry out to God to meet our immediate needs, as we perceive them to be urgent. The Bible tells us to live in hope - and faith is the key to waiting. We hoped to get into the event, and eventually our hope was fulfilled.
We hope that God will bring us into eternity with Him, our faith enables us to wait patiently for that Day which is yet to be fulfilled. However when it comes to things in this life we become impatient, saying we have faith, but not exhibiting much of it! Hope dwindles when negative experience overtakes us.
Isaiah reminds us that waiting on the Lord renews strength (Isaiah 40:31), whilst Paul encourages us to wait patiently for what we hope for. Whatever our frustrations in daily life, let’s be ever hopeful, always faithful and then thankful when things work out.
Prayer: Give me the courage, Lord, to wait patiently in faith, when it seems as though my immediate needs are not being met. Help me to learn to trust You at all times. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
John Berry entered the Baptist Ministry more than 40 years ago, and joined the Team at Ellel Glyndley Manor in 2007 with his wife Jennie. They have both now retired from the team but remain as part of the Teaching and Associate Ministry Teams at Glyndley. John and Jennie have seven Grandchildren.
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