The calendar has clicked over on a new year and, not surprisingly, your problems have not magically disappeared and your dreams have not been fulfilled (unless you dreamed to live another day, perhaps). In between now and when things come to fruition is the waiting and I find that waiting reveals more about who I am than does moments of fulfillment. Put more simply, how I wait speaks to who I am. Paul told his protégé, Titus:
“For the grace of God… trains us… while we wait”
I remember years ago David Wilkinson (the Prayer of Jabez author) saying that he sinned when he felt uncomfortable so he learned to ask the Holy Spirit to comfort him, and this usually happened quickly when he consciously asked for comfort. Having to wait can cause discomfort, and when I am discomforted I can look for distractions: I look at YouTube (NFL Highlights, sailing, prophetic words, music… not necessarily bad stuff) or Facebook or Instagram. I find a new series on Netflix to watch last thing at night to distract me from the waiting of the day. Mobile devices are battery powered distractions and, if we are not careful, we will distract ourselves to death. I need to learn to do better things while I wait in 2021. What are these better things, and what shall I avoid?
Here’s the full scoop on what Paul instructed young Titus:
11 For the grace of God has appeared, bringing salvation to all people. 12 It trains us to reject godless ways and worldly desires and to live self-controlled, upright, and godly lives in the present age, 13 as we wait for the happy fulfilment of our hope in the glorious appearing of our great God and Savior, Jesus Christ. 14 He gave himself for us to set us free from every kind of lawlessness and to purify for himself a people who are truly his, who are eager to do good.
There are lessons I can learn from this potent paragraph:
We did a lot of waiting around in 2020 while we social-distanced, sheltered in place, worked from home. Do we need to shake off some mediocre waiting habits and replace them with best waiting practices? I know I do. Happy 2021! May the way we wait for that which is “not yet” result in us ending 2021 in top form. “For the grace of God… trains us… while we wait.”
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