"Fear God, Love God, Serve God": "WHEN?"

"I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word

I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more

than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen

wait for the morning."

(Psalm 130:5-6)

“And behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon, and
this man was just and devout, waiting for the Consolation of Israel, and the
Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit
that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord’s Christ."
(Luke 2:25)

Everybody wants to know. It's the question most often asked of Almighty God; it's that elusive wondering, questioning, impatient, longing, frustrating, word. Simeon waited for the promised Messiah. And, "we" want to know, "when will the miracle come; when will the disease be healed; when will my family come together; when will the Rapture take place; when can I rise from these ashes; when will my teen come home; when will my marriage be whole; when ... when ... WHEN?"

"But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength;

they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary;

and they shall walk, and not faint."

(Isaiah 40:31)

We're admonished to mount up as Eagles and wait, but it seems we're flying around in a holding pattern, going in circles and watching the world go by, while we WAIT. It's the hardest thing for the Christian; it was hard for Job ... that nine months of sitting in terror. It was hard for Joseph, rotting in a prison cell when he was innocent; it was hard for Abraham, holding on for a seemingly impossible promise; it was hard for Noah, building a boat on dry ground, listening to daily raucous laughter ... it's hard for everybody who WAITS. But, the real question is ... What's going on while we wait? What are we learning in the wait? What "God plans" are developing during this sojourn in the hot lonely desert? What's going on in our minds, while we look to the sky for the next raven drop by the brook? What's emerging in "us" while we WAIT?

"Therefore, since through God's mercy we have

this ministry, we do not lose heart."

(2 Corinthians 4:1)

Ah, there it is! It's about the "ministry." What? The ministry ... the whole reason we're saved, the whole point of all of it ... a lost and dying world that Jesus Christ gave His life for, a Church who is His Bride, a Garden that's not like it was but will be again; a reaching for the time when peace will reign for a thousand years; a plan that's been prophetically unfolding for a long long time. So, WAIT, so SING, so REJOICE, so DANCE, so WORSHIP, so SHOUT, so WAIT ... for the fulfillment of all things!

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away,

yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day."

(2 Corinthians 4:16)

Sing my now favorite song, "Everybody Get Up!" You say, "Get up and wait; is that what you're saying?" Yep! You've got to admit that living for God is not dull! It's an adventure, sometimes hard, sometimes ecstasy, sometimes peaceful, sometimes WAR, sometimes a groan, sometimes a giggle, sometimes tears, sometimes dancing, but all the time, He IS Good! The Lord Jesus Christ is GOOD all the time; He will never leave us, nor forsake us ... that's a promise. As long as we keep moving toward Him, looking up, gravitating to the light, and holding to His hand ... we'll be alright!

"Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time

we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

(Galatians 6:9)

Joseph, the shepherds, Moses, Daniel, Simeon, Job, and Ruth waited, to name a few. They waited, we wait; it's the order of things in the realms of Almighty God. They learned, and we learn through the wait.

We're on the Home stretch; pick up the pace, get a new breath, smile a little wider, walk a little taller, praise a little louder, dance a little longer, worship a little deeper, climb a little higher, pray a little stronger, LOVE a little further ... If we remember that "waiting" is really not about "us;" if we look at it with the "mind of Christ;" if we step out of ourselves and look through God's eyes ... we SEE that we CAN wait, we can grasp the bigger Vision, we can make the "wait" a work in progress to BRING FORTH. You DO KNOW that the "WAIT" is supposed to bring something NEW from you, don't you? It's not just cobwebs hanging from our waiting prayers. It's really all about "WHO, WHAT, AND WHEN?"