He Chose to Wait (Forty Days with Jesus – Day 40, Apr 3)

04 Apr He Chose to Wait (Forty Days with Jesus – Day 40, Apr 3)

Read Matthew 27:62-66

Thought for the Day: Times of waiting are holy moments!

For many of us, there are few things more excruciating than waiting. Whether we sit in a doctor’s office waiting room or stand in line for a roller coaster, it is unlikely we look forward to moments of prolonged waiting. However, if you were to take your life and put it on a graph, a vast majority of the time would be spent waiting. Consider baseball: an average MLB game goes three hours but rarely contains more than 18 minutes of action. So too in our lives, we wait… and wait. But, considering how much time we spend waiting, do we realize that it is a skill to be worked on? A singer spends countless hours preparing for three minutes on an audition stage. But, do we prepare ourselves for the inevitable times of waiting?

Saturday was silent. While so much is said and written about the Third Day, we spend relatively little time considering the Second. Jesus had been buried in the tomb. The disciples had run away. Judas was dead. Guards were ordered to stand watch at the tomb. But, the story wasn’t over. What seemed impossible to Jesus’ friends would be proved completely possible with God. Yet, for the full 24-hours of that Saturday, even God waited!

How appropriate is it that on this final day of Lent, we wait? We know that Jesus has conquered sin and death. Still, we live in a fallen world where the remnants of sin will have continued effects until Christ comes again in final victory. Our entire spiritual lives are times of waiting. Rather than succumbing to frustration, let’s learn to see that times of waiting are holy moments. He chose to wait. So can we.

Reflect & Pray – How can I learn to ‘wait better’ in my life? What lessons can the moments of silence and waiting I experience teach me? God, thank you for the gift of waiting!