The Crucible of Waiting - Part 2

Reflections for this date are based on the following scripture passages:
Matthew 25	Matthew 26	Genesis 17	Genesis 18	Psalms 7

In Christian circles we talk about the testing of our faith that occurs through trials and difficulties in our lives. And yes, it is true that during these times we come to know the nature and strength of our faith and our walk with the Lord. But we should also come to recognize the same concerning those periods in our lives in which we find ourselves waiting on the Lord. It may be an answer to prayer or providing the next step in a direction in which we feel God has directed us. Whatever it is in which we find ourselves waiting on the Lord, the waiting period can be a time in which we become very vulnerable to temptation.

Abram was an example in our previous reflection on waiting, and continues to be an example in chapters 17 & 18 of Genesis. Abram was 75 years old when God first promised that although he and his wife were childless, they would give birth to an heir who would be the beginning of a line of descendants as numerous as the stars. By the time we come to chapter 17 Abram was 99 years old and still did not have the promised child. So when the Lord returned to him and said of his wife, "I will give you a son by her. I will bless her, and she will produce nations; kings of peoples will come from her." Abram laughed. It wasn't just a chuckle, but he fell to the ground laughing and thinking in his heart, "Can a child be born to a hundred-year-old man? Can Sarah, a ninety-year-old woman, give birth?" Again Abram offered Ishmael as the fulfillment of God's promise. But God insisted, "No. Your wife Sarah will bear you a son, and you will name him Isaac. I will confirm My covenant with him as an everlasting covenant for his offspring after him." Abram proved himself faithful and continued his wait on the Lord.

Matthew chapter 25 provides further examples of waiting on the Lord. Several of these examples had to do with the wait for the Lord's return at the end of the age. In the first part of the chapter Jesus compared it to a wedding party waiting for the bridegroom to come with his bride and enter the place where the wedding would be held. Ten virgins were given as the example of those waiting for the Lord to come and enter into the wedding chamber. But only half of them were prepared for the wait. Who knows what those who were unprepared were thinking and why they were unprepared, but it appears that they thought it no big deal and they could easily get what was needed to enter the wedding when the bridegroom arrived.

All ten virgins had grown weary with the wait and fallen asleep, but when the bridegroom suddenly appeared, those who were prepared were able to pick up and enter with him into the wedding chamber. Those who were unprepared tried to borrow what they needed and then had to go to a merchant to buy the needed oil. But when they returned they were locked out of the wedding and forbidden entry. Their faith was not equal to the wait.

Other examples are given in Matthew 25 & 26, and Jesus admonishes those involved to "be alert, because you don't know either the day or the hour." This counsel applies not only to our wait for the Lord's return but to every instance of waiting on the Lord. As Jesus and His disciples waited in the garden prior to His crucifixion, Jesus admonished them to "Stay awake and pray." And herein lies the key - staying in continual fellowship with the Lord. Though remaining in fellowship with the Lord through prayer may not give us any clues to when our wait will be over, it will keep our hearts in tune with Him so we do not lose faith and lose our vigilance in serving the Lord as we continue our wait on Him.