Waiting Purposefully

 

After this I looked, and behold, a great multitude that no one could number, from every nation, from all tribes and peoples and languages, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, “Salvation belongs to our God who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb!” And all the angels were standing around the throne and around the elders and the four living creatures, and they fell on their faces before the throne and worshiped God, saying, “Amen! Blessing and glory and wisdom and thanksgiving and honor and power and might be to our God forever and ever! Amen.” Then one of the elders addressed me, saying, “Who are these, clothed in white robes, and from where have they come?” I said to him, “Sir, you know.” And he said to me, “These are the ones coming out of the great tribulation. They have washed their robes and made them white in the blood of the Lamb. Therefore they are before the throne of God, and serve him day and night in his temple; and he who sits on the throne will shelter them with his presence. They shall hunger no more, neither thirst anymore; the sun shall not strike them, nor any scorching heat. For the Lamb in the midst of the throne will be their shepherd, and he will guide them to springs of living water, and God will wipe away every tear from their eyes.” (Revelation 7:9-17 ESV).

 

One of the hardest spiritual disciplines is to wait purposefully for Jesus to return. Some believers complain that every day that passes makes the wait harder. Others happily claim that every passing day brings us one day closer to Jesus. It takes the double discipline of patience and trust to live and wait every day in anticipation of Jesus’ coming. I have often been called upon to “delay gratification.”

 

At various moments in my personal journey I have learned that just waiting is an agonizing exercise in futility. Since I am writing this devotional on Tuesday, October 14^th, I have not yet experienced the anticipated joy of what is scheduled for this weekend. By the time you read this, I believe that both Faith and Logan, our oldest grandchildren, will have received their Aggie Rings. It’s a big deal with those of us who are in the maroon and white “cult.” Faith got her ring in the spring last year, Logan is scheduled for this weekend. What a great joy that will be to see this culmination of such perseverance and hard work for him. (By the way, the picture I've atttached was taken when they were in Middle School!)

 

Now, of course, as wonderful as that is, it is nothing compared to the great joy that will be ours when Jesus comes. But there is a principle at work here I want you to note. In the earning of their right to wear an Aggie Ring, they both had to persevere. They both had to wait purposefully. This is the call we all have in the waiting for Jesus’ return. It is not idle sitting. This is no exercise in the mere passage of time. It is intentional preparation and purposeful action. It is a discipline of waiting. Wait like that and you will not be disappointed!