“It will be said on that day,
‘Behold, this is our God; we have waited for him, that he might save us.
This is the Lord; we have waited for him;
let us be glad and rejoice in his salvation.’”
– Isaiah 25:9
We live in a culture that fools us into thinking we shouldn’t ever have to wait. Indeed, we’ve come to believe that something is wrong if we’re ever made to wait! Items large and small get delivered to our homes day and night. Meals get delivered within minutes of ordering. Groceries likewise show up without delay. Countless other things can be pre-ordered so they’ll be ready for pickup when we arrive, without waiting. In all this, we’ve lost our ability to wait patiently for anything.
Nonetheless, God tells us we must wait for the most important things. God moves on His time table and His transcendent understanding of time is dramatically different from our own. So we wait for the glorious day of salvation and restoration described in Isaiah 25: the Messianic banquet we’ll enjoy in God’s presence. Our hearts yearn for the restoration of creation as we survey the darkness and evil of this fallen world. We must wait patiently!
God will fulfill all His promises. When that day comes, it will be glorious, but we must wait for it, however long it takes. In the meantime, there is much that is good and wonderful for followers of Christ: we enjoy fellowship with God through faith in Christ, we enjoy forgiveness and eternal life in Christ, we have purpose and significance in our lives as we do the work prepared for us in Christ. Nonetheless, there are things we must still wait patiently for, including the glorious day when the Kingdom is consummated. Be patient!!!