Anticipation...

I haven't posted a devotion before... let's see how this goes.

Sometimes I feel like things are stagnant, like every day is the same. On days like that, I feel frustrated and impatient. I have a very good life, a good job, a great family - but sometimes I feel as though I need a change. I hope and I pray and I wait - and nothing seems to happen. Through several attempts at describing this phenomenon to my husband, here is what I've come up with.

A few years ago, every night at some point during his show, David Letterman would pull out a spiral bound notebook and write something to the effect of, "July 30th, 2010. Dear Diary: Today I did not hear from Oprah." And then he would close the notebook and put it away without another word.

Now, I live in Chicagoland. I've never been an Oprah watcher, but I have heard of her power. Second City says that Oprah can part the expressways the way Moses parted the Red Sea. My afternoon radio guy refers to her as "The Pope-rah." And Oprah was giving Mr. Letterman the silent treatment. Sometimes I feel that frustration, and on days like that, when my husband asks me how my day went, I reply, "I didn't hear from Oprah." He knows what I mean: Nothing bad happened, but I had been hoping for something better. Blah.

Well, eventually, David did hear from Oprah, and I'm sure they lived happily ever after. I guess what I'm trying to say is that I'm building the habit of reminding myself, "Today could be the day." And since I've started doing that, I start my day excited. Maybe I end my day saying, "I still didn't hear from Oprah"... but that doesn't mean that I won't tomorrow.

We begin each day with no idea what might happen - and I've forgotten how exciting that can be. Today could be the day someone finally gets a call about that job; or, it could be the day someone's kid finally gets out of diapers; or, it could be the day someone finally gets an offer on the house they've been trying to sell; or, something completely unexpected might happen. You could get a big win today - isn't that worth getting out of bed for?

When I started writing this, I intended this "devotion" to be about patience - I've been struggling, waiting for "Oprah's call" lately. But I remembered one of my college pastors once said, "Unwrap each day with the veracity of a six-year-old on Christmas morning." How many of us do that? So, I guess this message is really about anticipation and joy in waiting for God's perfect timing - and appreciating the little victories in between.

I never quite found the right verse for this message (open for suggestions) - but for now, let's try this one - it's the one my college pastor used in his sermon on living life to the fullest:

'But for you who revere my name, the sun of righteousness will rise with healing in its wings. And you will go out and leap like calves released from the stall.' --Malachi 4:2

And please, if you get a win, share with the rest of us in the comments! It could be contagious...

Love is waiting...

I had a brief “God moment” in the car a few days ago. Brooke Fraser, one of my favorite Christian artists, was singing about love, and I was lamenting my lack of it (in the romantic sense). I sang along with the lyrics, allowing a selfish sadness to creep into my voice and my spirit as I harmonized with Brooke:

I’ll be waiting for you, baby

I’ll be holding back the darkest night

Love is waiting ‘til we’re ready

‘Til it’s right

Love is waiting

“Love is waiting…” Well, Brooke, waiting is hard. Frustrating, even. Full of distractions. Burdensome. Confusing. Painful. And, in my humanness, especially now, waiting is all of those things x 10. And I don’t feel like it. So there.

But I kept singing, as I’m wont to do when things hurt, and suddenly, it occurred to me what was coming out of my mouth: LOVE is waiting. Not “like,” or “good enough” or “right now.” LOVE. God’s best. Ordained, in His timing, meant-to-be, full of blessings, moving toward holiness – not happiness, two-shall-become-one LOVE is WAITING.

And you know what that makes love? Patient. And kind. Not envious or boastful. Not proud. Not rude or self-seeking or easily angered. It keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes, always PERSEVERES. (1 Corinthians 13:4-8)

Love is WAITING. And if love - that which God is and exudes - is patient, then surely He in His perfection is worth waiting FOR, whatever our hearts’ desire. We, as Christ-followers, wait not for a husband, or a job, or a house, or anything tangible but for the LORD…for His confidence, His assurance, and His perfect peace.

That God would be so sweet to remind me what true love looks like – and that the wait is worth it – did much to soothe my tender spirit that night and in the days since then. What started out as a self-induced pity party on my drive home became a supernatural revelation through the Holy Spirit that God has already defined love. Indeed, He has demonstrated real love in its purest, truest form (John 3:16). So I need not worry about earthly companionship or the fulfillment of my selfish wants, however justified. My Creator in Heaven knows what I need before I even ask Him (Matthew 6:8) and has promised a hope and a future in Him (Jeremiah 29:11).

LOVE is patient. Always hopes. Always perseveres. Love never fails.

~

Romans 8:24-25 ~ Who hopes for what he already has? But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 5:3-4 ~ Not only so, but we also rejoice in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts by the Holy Sprit, whom He has given us.

Romans 12:12 ~ Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.

2 Peter 3:9 ~ The Lord is not slow in keeping His promise, as some understand slowness. He is patient with you…

Psalm 130:5-6 ~ I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning.

~

MLH