Waiting

We had a sermon on waiting the other week. Simeon got to see Jesus, but only as a baby. The rest everybody had to wait for. We still have to wait for the completion of the salvation. Joshua had to wait -- several times, not just at Jericho. Often the waiting is for things we can't do ourselves, though sometimes it seems that maybe we could expedite matters a trifle, if only ...

Just keep going, just keep praying, just keep doing the apparently ordinary stuff in front of you, just keep hoping ... and waiting. Patience isn't one of my front line virtues, which makes perseverance a little weak too -- and God seems to value perseverance.

Since so many of the things we hope for aren't things we can assist with very much (e.g. A isn't open to listening to advice from you), maybe the waiting is God's way of giving us a role that we can handle. "Hold until relieved," perhaps. We can't see what good our waiting does; maybe we will one day.