Waiting Patiently Ep.V: How Do We Wait

"The rulers of this age keep a close eye on any proclamation that may disturb present arrangements" Walter Brueggemann

Comfort, O comfort my people, says your God. Speak tenderly to Jerusalem, and cry to her that she has served her term, that her penalty is paid, that she has received from the Lord's hand double for all her sins.

A voice cries out: “In the wilderness prepare the way of the Lord, make straight in the desert a highway for our God. Every valley shall be lifted up, and every mountain and hill be made low; the uneven ground shall become level, and the rough places a plain. The the glory of the Lord shall be revealed, and all people shall see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” A voice says, “Cry out!” And I said, “What shall I cry?” All people are grass, their constancy is like the flower of the field. The withers, the flower fades, when the breath of the Lord blows upon it; surely the people are grass. The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of the our God will stand forever.

Get you up to a high mountain, O Zion, herald of good tidings; lift up your voice with strength, O Jerusalem, herald of good tidings, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Judah, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might and his arm rules for him; his reward is with him, and his recompense before him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs in his arms, and carry them in his bosom, and gently lead the mother sheep.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and marked off the heavens with a span, enclosed the dust of the earth in a measure, and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance? Who has directed the spirit of the Lord, or as his counselor has instructed him? Who did he consult for his enlightenment, who taught him the path of justice? Who taught him knowledge, and showed him the way of understanding? Even the nations are like a drop from a bucket, and are accounted as dust on the scales; see, he takes up the isles like fine dust. Lebanon would not provide enough fuel, nor are its animals enough for a burnt offering. All the nations are as nothing before him; they are accounted by him as less than nothing and emptiness.

To whom then will you liken God, or what likeness compare with him? And idol? A workman casts it, and a goldsmith overlays it with gold, and casts for it silver chains. As a gift one chooses mulberry wood—wood that will not rot—then seeks out a skilled artisan to set up an image that will not topple. Have you not known? Have you not heard? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the earth? It is he who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to naught, and makes rulers of the earth as nothing. Scarcely are they planted, scarcely sown, scarcely has their stem taken root in the earth, when he blows upon the them, and they wither, and the tempest carries them off like stubble. To whom then will you compare me, or who is my equal? says the Holy One. Lift up your eyes on high and see: Who created these? He brings out their host and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob, and speak, O Israel, “My way is hidden from the Lord, and my right is disregarded by my God?” Have you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and strengthens the powerless. Even youths will faint and be weary, and the young will fall exhausted; but those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Isaiah 40

How long until we have peace on earth? How long will countries rage wars against others? How long will terrorism reign in the hearts of the just and unjust? How long must we wait? How long until you come, long-expected Jesus? How long must we wait?

You are not in a hurry, are you? You will take your time. You've always taken your time. Your people have been waiting for generations. You were here for a little while but then you left. You have said that you will return. Those before us thought you would return sooner than later. They waited patiently even to the point of death. They waited with great concern, afraid that they've missed it. You gave them comfort. You gave them peace. You are the peace that passes all understanding.

But we do not fully understand your peace. We do not understand why you are taking so long. We do not understand and our hearts are troubled. Our world is in chaos; yet, it has been said that you will give light to those who sit in darkness and in the shadow of death, to guide our feet into the way of peace. Are you guiding us now? In the midst of our chaos, in our hurriedness, we need your peace. We need your light. We need your comfort.

The longer we wait, the longer we are here we are bound to make a mistake. We will take it upon ourselves to find ways to bring about peace. We will think that peace is a warm blanket or a cup of tea with an enemy. Our countries will think of peace as something that can be achieved through atomic weapons, giant walls to separate those like us from those not like us. Our churches will think of peace as something that can be accomplished through budgets and church attendance. Families will think of peace as something that keeps the problems under the rugs. Our understanding of peace is not your understanding of peace. Our definition is not your definition, so we wait and we wait.

As we wait, give us the peace that calms the storms in our lives. As we wait, give us the peace that will pass all understanding. Give us peace with one another. Give us patience to wait on you. Renew our strength.

As we wait, give us the peace to rest on your word, on your promise. Give us the peace to know that the grass withers, and the flowers fade but your faithfulness is everlasting. Give us the peace to trust that you are making all things new. Give us the peace to wait patiently.

How then do you wait with patient peace? How then do you keep your faith in a non-peaceful world? How do you find peace in the midst of the chaos and storms of life?

By waiting on the Lord.

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? Has it not been told to you from the beginning? Have you not understood? It is God who sits above the circle of the earth, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the heavens like a curtain, and spreads them like a tent to live in; who brings princes to nothing, and makes rulers of the earth as nothing. To whom then will you compare God, or who is his equal? Lift up your eyes high and see the stars, he brings them out and numbers them, calling them all by name; because he is great in strength, mighty in power, not one is missing.

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? Even the young grow weary and tired. But those who wait upon the Lord, will renew their strength. They will run and not tire. They will walk and not faint.

How then do you wait?

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? Get you up on your roof, lift up your voice with strength, lift it up, do not fear; say to the cities of Virginia, “Here is your God!” See, the Lord God comes with might and peace comes with him. He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the us in his arms, and carry them in his embrace, and gently lead.

The day of peace is coming; the peace that passes all understanding; the peace that calms the stormy waters; the peace that resides from within. How then do you wait? Everyone waits in her own way, or his own way. And where does the power come from, to see the waiting to its end? From within. Jesus said, "Behold, the Kingdom of God is within you. If with all your hearts, you truly seek me, you shall ever surely find me." If you commit yourself to the love of Christ, then that is how you patiently wait for peace.

Have you not heard? Have you not been told? A day is coming. How then do you wait?