But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. Romans 8:25
Waiting Patiently
How many times did you wait today? Wait in line. Wait at a red light. Wait for a text. We spend a surprising amount of life waiting. Are you patient when it comes to waiting?
The Christian life is a life of waiting. We wait for Christ to return. We wait for the resurrection of our bodies. We wait for the day when sin is gone, and every promise God has made is fulfilled before our eyes. Yet notice how the apostle Paul describes that waiting: “We wait for it patiently.”
Patience doesn’t come naturally. There’s a reason it’s called a virtue. By nature, we want God to work according to our timetable. In a world where instant information is at our fingertips, this has only been magnified. But biblical patience is the quiet confidence that rests in God’s promises even when his timing remains hidden.
Think of a farmer. After planting his seed, he cannot make it grow by worrying. He cannot rush the harvest by checking the field every hour. He waits because he trusts that, in the proper season, the crop will come. So, too, our heavenly Father has already planted every promise in the death and resurrection of his Son. The harvest is certain. The only thing left is God’s appointed day.
That changes how we carry today’s crosses. We do not endure suffering to prove our strength. Rather, we trust that it is often through waiting that the Lord strengthens us through his Word. We wait because we know our Savior keeps every promise. One day the waiting will end. The trumpet will sound, and the dead will be raised. The crown that Jesus won will be a joyful reality, and every cross will be behind you. But until that glorious day, keep waiting, not with anxious uncertainty, but with joyful confidence. It will be worth the wait because no cross compares with the crown of glory that awaits.
Prayer:
Lord Jesus, you have promised that you will come again to take your people home. Keep me faithful as I wait for that glorious day. Give me patience that rests in your promises, courage to bear the crosses of this life, and confidence that nothing can separate me from your love. Amen.
