“making the best use of time because the days are evil.” Ephesians 5:16 (ESV)
With apologies to the movie entitled While You Were Sleeping, we find ourselves waiting very often. It seems that one of God’s favorite commands is “Wait!” There are myriad reasons for this: He is working in ways larger than we understand; we have truth to learn and experience; we can grow in trusting God, etc. In our Scripture from Sunday, even after Abram moved to Canaan in obedience to the LORD’s command and promise, there was an unspecified period during which Abram, his family, and his entire nomadic group simply lived as they always had. There apparently were no specific instructions on what to do next! But Abram used that time of waiting to worship God as he built altars in two different places. Pretty amazing and made me consider how I use times of waiting.
In our culture, we really don’t wait well. How many times do we groan because we hit every stoplight on the way to wherever? Waiting in the doctor’s office, we hear, “The doctor’s running late, sorry.” Standing in any long line or waiting while the person in front of you at the store checkout line has problems causes us to wait. Or the more serious wait times of financial issues, medical diagnosis, sons/daughters walking away from the Lord, future uncertainty, and God still says to wait. We want the resolution now, the answer yesterday, our plan enacted immediately, the pain gone, and on and on. Perhaps these times of waiting, whether short or long, could be times of opportunities for us to worship him in our responses. We are instructed in Ephesians 5:16: “making the best use of time because the days are evil.”
We have many examples in Scripture. Joseph, imprisoned for years, continued to trust and worship God. David, surrounded by enemies, hunted by the king, still always trusted in God even when he cried, “How long, O Lord?” This does not mean we are to deny the reality, the emotions, or the extent of the waiting.
How can we worship while we wait? Consider these passages:
“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14 (ESV)
“give thanks in all circumstances; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you.” 1 Thessalonians 5:18 (ESV)
“Count it all joy, my brothers, when you meet trials of various kinds, for you know that the testing of your faith produces steadfastness.” James 1:2-3 (ESV)
“So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God.” 1 Corinthians 10:31 (ESV)
Perhaps today, when you are waiting, you can build an altar to worship God in the way you respond. What will that look like?
Francie Overstreet
EFCC Member