Dear Faith Family, 

 And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience, (Romans 8:23-25). 

God is the Lord of timing.  Think about it. All the way back to the Garden of Eden. In the beginning, God. Following His existence was the exercise of His timing. Why not create everything instantaneously? Why reveal His creative character a day at a time rather than all at once?  And yet, there it is in the first chapter of Genesis, one day at a time.  Intentional timing. 

So, what’s the relationship between the creative character of God and His timing?  Without timing there isn’t any wait, (You know, day one had to wait until day three for the dry land and its vegetation.  Day five had to wait until tomorrow for man to be created.).  Without any wait there’s no place for patience to develop. Right? 

And then there was “in the fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4) the coming of the Christ.  Prior to His coming was the wait, a place for patience to develop.  And now?  Now we wait.  We wait for the triumphant return of Christ, a greenhouse in which patience can grow. 

I type these words as I wait.  Somewhere in the bowels of MUSC hospital in this room called “Surgical Waiting”.  Apparently, their interior decorator failed to plant patience.  It seems a bit conspicuously absent. 

You’ve been there, right?  In traffic that feels more like imprisonment.  In line at the grocery store.  At the front door looking for Amazon.  Refreshing your email account eager for an email to show up.  Listening for test results from your doctor. 

Each involves timing.  Each requires waiting.  Each is a place where patience can grow.  Each is a place where patience can be stripped of its opposition – hopeless anxiety.  And each is a place where patience is free to put its roots down deep in the soil of hope – confident expectation in the sovereign, almighty God who is our Father (that means that we, in Christ, are His children!).  Oh yea, and He is good! 

Patience doesn’t guarantee that we will like His will.  Patience doesn’t always yield our desired, immediate outcome.  But patience can help us to hope in Him rather than in our current circumstances.  Patience can help us long for more than this world.  And patience can yield the fruit of hope as we wait for Jesus’ to return and to make things right! 

So, what then?  Next time you find yourself struggling with the wait, maybe it’s time to fill a pot with the soil of hope (Maybe search the Word of God for every time the word “hope” is used.) and plant some patience – the longing for Him to make things right. 

Learning, by grace, to bear the fruit of the Spirit, 

Pastor Karl