Daily Scripture Reading:
Psalm 27:14 – “Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!”
Psalm 40:1 – “I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry.”
Psalm 46:10 – “Be still and know that I am God!”
Observation: People don’t like to wait. There’s ample evidence in life: blowing horns, hand signals at traffic lights, comments in stores when the clerk is not moving fast enough, loud sighs, drumming fingers, eyes glancing at watches. I know. I’ve seen or done all of these things.
When have we enjoyed waiting?
When my son, Will, was in elementary school, I spent a lot of time waiting in the school pick-up line. His school dismissed at 2:30 and I soon learned that I had several choices: get there by 2:00 and be the first in line to get out of the parking lot, get there about 2:20 and wait on the highway to eventually get in the pick-up line, or get there by 2:40 and see sad little Will waiting for his mom while all of his friends had been picked up. My choice: go early.
Surprisingly, the time spent in the pick-up line became MY time or rather GOD’s time with me. The car was in park. The music was off. It was quiet.
As I waited, I sometimes read my Bible or a devotional book. Sometimes I sat with my journal and just wrote what came to mind. Sometimes I just sat. Amazingly (or maybe not so amazingly), I wrote more sermons, more messages, and more lessons in this location than I thought possible.
Why? Because I was still. I was waiting.
For full disclosure, this was before smart phones. Now while waiting, it’s too tempting to check email, look at Facebook, or play Candy Crush. But suppose we did turn off the phone while we waited? What would happen if we turned the music off? What would happen if instead of wondering why the clerk is so slow, we prayed for him or her?
Life gives us lots of opportunities to wait. Maybe those times can be times to hear God in a new way.
Prayer: Jesus, teach me to wait. Forgive me when I’m impatient. Lord Jesus, instead of getting agitated while I wait, speak to me. Calm my mind. Teach me to listen for you as I wait. In Your name I pray, Amen.
Reflection Question for the Day: Think about the day ahead of you. Is there a time that you KNOW that you will be waiting? While you wait, turn off your phone or at least put it on vibrate. While you’re driving today, turn off the music. Instead be quiet. Today while you’re waiting in a line, say a prayer for the person in front of you, the one behind you, and for the clerk who’s helping you. Just for today, enjoy the time you wait.
Devotion from Building Margin for a Balanced Life, devotional book, small group study and sermon series
©Tim Reaves and Trish Archer
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