S2E36 Waiting rooms of the Soul

Hello, my friends, and welcome back to the Spray UMC Podcast.

I'm Hoyt.

Most of us know something about waiting rooms.

We wait in a doctor's office, a hospital, or in my case, a dialysis center, and beside a phone that refuses to ring.

We wait for an appointment, an answer, a test result, or news that may change our lives.

Those rooms are uncomfortable because we have so little control.

We cannot make the doctor arrive, hurry the laboratory, or force the answer to come.

We can only wait.

There are also waiting rooms of the soul.

We wait for healing, direction, reconciliation, grief to become bearable, a door to open, or prayer to be answered.

The hardest part is often not knowing how long the waiting will last or what the answer will be.

So today we will consider this question.

How do we remain faithful when we cannot hurry the answer?

Much of life takes place between prayer and answer, promise and fulfillment, beginning and completion.

Our world has trained us to expect speed.

We can send a message across the country in seconds and have a package delivered the next day.

Then we become frustrated when circumstances, other people, and even God do not move according to our schedule.

Faith does not give us control over time.

Scripture is filled with people who waited.

Abraham and Sarah waited for a promised child.

Joseph waited through slavery and imprisonment.

Israel waited for deliverance.

David waited before becoming king.

Simon and Anna waited for the Messiah.

They did not always wait calmly.

They became tired, confused, frightened, and impatient.

Their struggles remind us that finding it difficult to wait is not proof that we lack faith.

Faithful people still find waiting difficult.

Psalms one hundred thirty speaks from a place of distress.

The psalmist does not pretend that everything has been already resolved.

Instead he says I wait for the Lord.

My soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

My soul waiteth for the Lord more than they that watch for the morning.

Psalms one hundred thirty five and six.

A watchman cannot command the sun to rise.

He cannot shorten the night.

His responsibility is to remain alert and trust that morning will come.

Waiting upon God is something like that.

It means trusting God's character whenever we cannot yet see the outcome.

Our hope rests in God himself, not merely in receiving the particular answer we want.

We can wait honestly.

We can pray.

Lord, I am tired, I am afraid, I do not understand.

Help me remain faithful today.

God does not require us to hide our weariness before coming into His presence.

Biblical waiting is not passive resignation.

While we wait, we continued praying, worshiping, loving our neighbors, fulfilling today's responsibilities, receiving appropriate care, and taking the next faithful step.

Waiting upon God does not mean ignoring medical advice, refusing assistance, or remaining in danger.

God often guides and cares for us through doctors, counselors, pastors, family members, and trusted friends.

Sometimes the faithful response is to make the appointment, ask for help, have the difficult conversation, or walk through a door God has already opened.

At other times we have done what we can, and the outcome remains beyond our control.

Wisdom helps us distinguish between the steps that belong to us and the result that must be entrusted to God.

It is worth asking, am I truly waiting upon God or am I avoiding something I already know I should do?

And if I have done what belongs to me, can I release what I cannot control into God's hands?

A delayed answer can feel like divine absence.

We may wonder whether God hurt us, whether we prayed correct incorrectly, whether he is disappointed in us, or whether he has forgotten us.

Scripture gives us permission to ask difficult questions.

The Psalms contain lament as well as praise.

Honest prayer is still prayer, and God is not threatened by our questions.

We should also be careful about explaining someone else's waiting.

We cannot assume that every delay is punishment, a test, or evidence of weak faith, nor should we promise that every painful circumstance will soon be replaced by something better.

Sometimes we simply do not know why the waiting continues.

God's silence is difficult, but silence is not the same as absence.

Faith does not pretend to understand everything.

Faith continues turning toward God even when the answer has not come.

Luke tells us about two people who had learned to wait faithfully.

Simon was waiting for the consolation of Israel.

Anna had spent many years worshiping, fasting, and praying in the temple.

Neither of them could control when the Messiah would come.

Their waiting did not prevent them from living faithfully.

They continued to worship, pray, and hope.

Then Mary and Joseph carried the infant Jesus into the temple.

Many people may have seen only another young family with a baby.

Simon and Anna recognized that God was fulfilling his promise.

Their years of waiting had taught them to watch for God's work, even when it appeared quietly and in a form others might overlook.

Waiting can sharpen our attention.

It can teach us to notice that grace does not arrive with noise or spectacle.

Waiting is not merely a theological idea for me.

Three days each week I go to dialysis.

There is waiting for treatment to begin, waiting while the machine does its work, and waiting to see how my body will respond.

Illness can make life feel governed by appointments, numbers, test results, and other people's schedule.

Some days faith feels strong.

On other days, faith may look like showing up for the next treatment because that is the faithful step in front of me.

Grace may arrive through a kind word, a telephone call, a compassionate caregiver, a remembered scripture, or enough strength to endure one more hour.

I do not need strength for every future treatment at once.

I need sufficient grace for the present moment.

Sometimes faithful waiting is simply showing up for the next thing God has placed before us.

Waiting exposes our desire for control.

It may uncover fear, anger, impatience, weariness, and expectations that we never placed before God.

That does not mean God causes every painful delay.

It means God can meet us and form us within circumstances we would never have chosen.

Waiting can teach us dependence upon self-sufficiency, patience instead of control, compassion for others who wait in gratitude for daily grace.

We may not recognize that growth while it is happening.

Sometimes we see it only when we look back and realize that God sustained us one day at a time.

Not every season of waiting ends with healing, reconciliation, or the answer we requested.

Christian hope must never become a promise that earthly circumstances will always improve according to our wishes.

Sometimes the answer is yes, sometimes it is not yet.

Sometimes God leads us in a direction we did not expect.

And sometimes the burden remains while God gives us grace to endure it.

Our hope rests in God's faithfulness, not in our ability to predict the answer.

Our ultimate hope is resurrection and eternal life with Christ.

Even when an earthly answer brings disappointment, God's love has not failed.

This is also when the church must remain close, refusing to abandon those whose hope for answer did not come.

If you are in a waiting room of the soul today, begin by telling God the truth.

Ask for what you generally desire, and then place the outcome in his hands.

Do the faithful work that belongs to today.

Receive help.

Remain connected to worship in Christian community.

Notice the small signs of grace and remember how God has sustained you before.

Do not demand grace for every future possibility at once.

Ask for grace for today and strength for the next faithful step.

Consider these questions.

What am I waiting for?

What part of this situation must I place into God's hands?

Is there a step that belongs to me now?

Where have I already seen grace?

And who can help me carry this season?

All of us spend seasons in the waiting rooms of the soul.

We cannot force the door to open or command morning to arrive, but we can remain faithful in the darkness.

God may change our circumstances.

He may change us within the circumstances.

He may give strength for one more day before revealing the next step.

Waiting is not wasted when it is placed in God's hands.

The watchman waits for morning because darkness will not have the final word.

Christians wait with hope because Jesus Christ has overcome sin and death.

We may not know when the waiting will end or what the answer will be, but we know who remains with us while we wait.

Let us pray.

Lord, be near to all those who are waiting for healing, guidance, reconciliation, or important news.

Give strength to those whose waiting has become exhausting.

Help us recognize the faithful steps that belong to us and entrust the outcome to you.

Protect us from shame, despair, and careless explanations.

Help your church remain beside those who wait.

Give us courage for today, hope for tomorrow, and sufficient grace for the next faithful step.

Remain close to us in every waiting room of the soul.

Through Jesus Christ our Lord we pray.

Amen.

Now before we close, I want to let you know about my books, The Apostles' Creed and the Lord's Prayer, are both available on Amazon.

Each book takes familiar words of our Christian faith and considers what they mean for our lives today.

My hope is that they will help you grow in your understanding of God and deepen your relationship with Jesus Christ.

You can find both books on Amazon by searching for my name, Hoyt S.

Barrett, Jr.

Thank you for joining me today.

If you do not have a church home, we would love to have you worship with us at Spray United Methodist Church, located at 803 Morgan Road in Eden, North Carolina.

We are a loving church where we love God and love people.

All people.

Until next time, may the grace of God rise before you and keep you safe.

Goodbye.