Day 18 From Repurposed Find to Life Found

Day 18

So we’ve been discussing memory and how it shapes us, what we “remember” defines how we color future events sometimes. What about when we learn to let go, when we learn to continue to press in even though that goes against every fiber of what our “better judgement’ tells us. What about when we finally relinquish control of it all? Isn’t there freedom in discovering that? Now, don’t get me wrong, I’m not saying not to be prudent, not to be prepared, not to even just throw all caution to the wind. But, what about not waiting in expectation already predicting the outcome. Consider things we wait for...we wait in traffic, we wait when we’ve applied for a job or for college, we wait for a reply to emails, we wait for our turn to order, we wait in line and more seriously we wait on test results, we wait on our marriage to get better, we wait for a relationship, we wait to get asked out, we wait for the heartache of losing a loved one to be over, we wait....

When we are faced with those situations, do we wait already believing for the worst or do we wait in hopeful expectation? Do we wait already planning for the negative test result, the divorce, another lonely night of no relationship, do we wait thinking there’s no way it could really work out that I’d get in to that college, do we wait believing that we could never get over the heartbreak of losing someone. Do we wait with a countenance about us that most people know just by looking at us that we’re troubled or do we wait with joy because we’re grateful for the experience of it all. 

I think of this time of year, and how much we wait in anticipation of Christmas. We wait to see the look on our loved one’s face when they unwrap their gift, we wait in line to buy the perfect gift, we wait for family to arrive from near and far, we wait for the one wrong thing that’ll be said to erupt into family feuds, we wait for our kids to give us a list for their perfect gift, we wait for our kids to have grateful hearts understanding that this year the perfect gift is just not possible. 

And then, almost without realizing it, we remember....

Jesus came so long ago in the form of a baby, spent 33 years on this earth. It began with Mary waiting expectantly for the birth of this sweet baby. Then Jesus hung out here among us and waited for the time that His ministry would begin, He waited for the time that He would suffer and die for each one of us. He waited for the time that He would choose each one of us to be reconciled to Him. And He is waiting for the time that God would say ok, this is it! Now is the time for your second coming. Now is the time that there will be no more pain, no more heartache, no more longing, no more waiting...

You see friends, as long as we’re here on this earth, there will be things that we long for, that we wait for, that we are expecting. But, let us not forget who goes before us. Let us remember especially at this time, that what we are truly waiting for has not yet arrived. When we are troubled by the things that cause us to wait, rather than allow yourself to remember the lies that would steal the joy of the experience. remember to keep Jesus in front of even the best thing you could possibly be waiting for. Remember to keep Jesus in front of the worst thing you could be waiting for. And when you wait, don’t wait with a heart filled with sadness and despair, but rather be joyful knowing that He waits with you. Remember when Jesus was with the disciples in the boat and the huge storm came and they feared they would drown. Jesus calms the wind and calms the storm. And they say “Who is this?” Friends, storms are a common thing in this life, whatever yours are filled with. Jesus may not always calm your storm but He does promise to be there with you as you go through it. We have the privilege of being on this side of the gospel. The story that is still being written includes you and me as we wait for His triumphant return. So, when we get to wait alongside Him, we don’t have to wonder “Who is this?” we get to proclaim who He is! 

John 16:33

New International Version (NIV)

33 “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”