Waiting

Isaiah 33

O Lord, be gracious to us...we wait for you.  Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.

Where is God in the midst of waiting?  Isaiah asks for God to be gracious to us while we wait.  I don't think that translates into God speeding up time.  Graciousness can mean giving us patience.  Graciousness can mean we notice God's presence.  Graciousness might just mean having strength and clear thoughts.  

Isaiah asks for God to be an arm to lean on in the morning and salvation/hope in times of trouble.  That wisdom is profound and makes sense to me.  In the midst of waiting we need an arm to surround us and support us and remind us we are not alone.  In times of trouble we need to know God is still our hope.  

Sometimes I want five simple steps for making sure that beyond a shadow of a doubt God is with me when I am waiting.  I want a money-back guarantee that God will give me all I need to get through that time of trouble.  I just don't think faith works that way.  Faith is more mysterious and confusing at times.  It does not always make linear or logical sense.  Yet, I think faith can open us to see the ways the arms of God are around us in times of waiting.  It might come in the friend who drives us to the doctor's appointment.  Maybe in the person who calls us to check and see how we are doing.  Hope does not always mean everything works out "happily ever after".  Hope can be that sense of peace we feel even when things don't work out. 

Perhaps the reason why waiting is so difficult is we have countless things to distract us.  Waiting at the store?  Pull out your smartphone and post to Facebook.  Waiting at a traffic light?  Fiddle with the radio.  We don't practice waiting when we distract ourselves constantly.  Maybe this week we can try to wait in lines and see if we can sense the arm and hope of God?  While it may not be easy, we may find trusting in God opens us to traces of God's grace.

Blessings and peace!