Waiting for Marshmallow #2:
Life is a series of waiting “opportunities.”
We wait for Santa Claus to come
We wait for our front tooth to fall out
For our first cell phone
The driver’s license
The freedom of college
The first time to hear “Congratulations, you’ve been hired!”
The first mortgage payment.
And on and on….
In fact, a great synonym for life could be “The Waiting Game.”
We may not know what’s around the corner, but we can bet there’s
waiting involved.
And if I want some biblical examples…well there is a plethora. So I thought I might take a look at a
few. I’m not as focused on WHAT they
were waiting for as much as HOW they waited and what they learned in the
process.
First in line to consider:
Hannah
Seven observations on Hannah’s “waiting game”:
1. Her waiting was worsened by her jealousy. She was not merely tormented by her own
anguish of wanting a child that seemingly was never going to come, but right in
front of her was the other wife of her husband who had been blessed with sons
and daughters.
2. Her waiting continued year after year. Not a few days. A week. Or even a few months.
Years.
3. She was most provoked by Peninnah (the other wife) on her way to
the Lords’ house (verse 7)
4. The very thing that Hannah wanted so desperately was not being
withheld by the devil’s scheme…it was the Lord’s doing (verse 5)
5. She had a husband who loved her…and tried to
comfort her, “Hannah, why are you
weeping? Why don’t you eat? Why are you downhearted? Don’t I mean more to you
than ten sons? ”
6. In
her deep anguish and desire, she laid it out completely honestly before the
Lord in the temple. So honestly that her expression to the Lord is mistaken for
drunkenness. Perhaps such an honest expression to the Lord was not a usual sight...
7. Hannah
received the very desire of her heart: Samuel.
And gave him right back to the Lord.
For years, Hannah waited.
She never gave up.
She did
not try and make her own desire a reality.
She waited.
She was honest in her waiting.
And perhaps most importantly….she knelt in her waiting at the altar
of the Lord.
Hannah’s infertility led to her pleading with the Lord and promising
to give her cherished son to the Lord’s service.
Samuel’s ministry led to the anointing of David.
Without Hannah’s infertility, there would have been no vow to return
Samuel to the house of the Lord. Without
being raised in the house of the Lord, Samuel would not have been in place to
anoint David as king. And the story continues...
My takeaway for today is simple:
God has a plan for the waiting.
How am I going to wait?
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