Waiting on the Lord is always worth the wait

All right, so nobody told me that signing your kid up for junior high track meant that you’d be standing around all day waiting for him to run a race that took all of 15 seconds. In the cold wind, with sand and dirt blowing from every which direction in your face and eyes. With a concession stand lunch consisting of a lukewarm hotdog. 

The sacrifices we parents make for our children. Guess I’m exaggerating a little. It wasn’t really all day. Just that we arrived in Rochester for the 9 a.m. meet, and it wasn’t until about 11 that Tyler participated in his first event, the long jump. Then we must have waited another two hours before he ran in the 100. Then I think it was another two hours before his relay team was on the track. So, yeah, pretty much all day.

Not a waste, mind you. We were able to see quite a few PORTA junior high athletes perform, and they all gave a great effort in representing the school. So, good job, guys, in your first meet of the season! 

We are blessed to have a good school with teachers and coaches and administrators and staff, not to mention some outstanding volunteers, who lead our kids well and strive to prepare them for success in life, whether in the classroom, on the athletic field, through music and the arts and a host of other organizations in which they have opportunity to learn and to lead. Thank you for investing in our children’s lives!

Who really enjoys waiting, though? It’s not one of our strong points. We live in a culture where we want and expect things now, not later. You pull up to the drive-through at your favorite local fast food establishment and you don’t want to be there for 20 minutes when you only have a 30 minute lunch break. You arrive early at the doctor’s office for your appointment in hopes that you won’t have to wait too long, but you know bringing a good book with you anyway is a good idea. And who waits to read the morning newspaper when you can get all the stories right on your mobile device now?

The people of Israel were not good at waiting either. God had called their fearless leader Moses to the top of Mt. Sinai where He would give Him the Ten Commandments on tablets of stone. As Moses went up the mountain, the glory of God came down in a cloud and His presence like a devouring fire lit up the atmosphere. I long for the day when God reveals His glory so visibly in our midst. Or perhaps I fear such a day.

Well, the people grew restless as Moses spent 40 days and 40 nights on the mountain. They got tired of waiting. Apparently they forgot to bring their Kindle Fire along or couldn’t get a strong enough wifi signal to download another book to read. Either way, they wrote Moses off and demanded of Aaron that he make gods for them, apparently soon forgetting commandments number one and two (see Exodus 20:1-6).

And Aaron, Moses’ brother who was left in charge, rather than standing boldly for the Lord in truth and righteousness, caved in to the demands of the crowds, fashioned a golden calf and declared, “These are your gods, O Israel, who brought you up out of the land of Egypt!” (Exodus 32:4). 

It is a sad day when leaders of the people give in to the tide of current popular opinion instead of gaining strength by waiting upon the Lord. It is a sad day when leaders let the ungodly set the course and go right along with them. It is a sad day when leaders seek to please men rather than seeking to please God. 

Rather than waiting to hear from Moses the Word of the Lord, the people began self-destructing by doing whatever they saw as right in their own eyes. Let us be a people who wait upon the Lord, who delight in and yield to the authority of God’s Word, and stand boldly upon His truth and righteousness in a world of wickedness and destruction.