Waiting...again!

Hebrews 10:9-14 - Then he said, "Here I am, I have come to do your will." He sets aside the first to establish the second.  And by that will, we have been made holy through the sacrifice of the body of Jesus Christ once for all. Day after day every priest stands and performs his religious duties; again and again he offers the same sacrifices, which can never take away sins. But when this priest had offered for all time one sacrifice for sins, he sat down at the right hand of God. Since that time he waits for his enemies to be made his footstool, because by one sacrifice he has made perfect forever those who are being made holy.

I have to be honest with you…really honest. Hebrews has been really hard for me to read. At first I thought it was due do being out of my routine….having to write at odd times…having my mind preoccupied with my mom’s progress from her horrible bout with pneumonia…  one night I even resorted to reading a chapter on my phone ap. I love my mom so much…but I knew the strength to deal with her sickness would come from the relationship I had built with God…reading my bible each night..so somehow …no matter what….I needed to find time to read and process what he said to me.

But as I read last night..I thought about how formal the author of Hebrews was. He uses big words and his sentences seem so difficult to decipher in plain English.  So I tried to do what I teach my students to do…when a passage is hard to understand…look for smaller phrases that make sense.  That’s when I noticed the word ‘waited.’ I have seen that one many time lately…so I wasn’t surprised to see it at all.  And as I reread the sentence it contained…the insight was revealed.  JESUS HAD TO WAIT!!!!  Amazing that I never saw that before.

Jesus waited many times while he was doing the will of God on this Earth…but now that he has received his reward…now that he sits next to his father…now that he intercedes for me when I need it…he has to wait until the time is right for Satan to be completely and permanently defeated.  (I had to put the picture out of mind immediately of him turning to his father every minute and asking if it was time yet…is it time yet…Can I go get them now?) So as I write today…I have no excuses for being an impatient follower of Christ.  If he is up there waiting…and I am sure it is a very serene quiet scene as they sit in the throne room of Heaven.  I guess I had better learn to do a better job of it too. If I don’t wait on God….if I try to do it on my own….I will make a mess …I will lose my footing.  If I don’t wait…I let go of God’s hand….and run in front of him….and I will surely fall again.

He gives us some great advice on how to wait later in the chapter…so make sure you read the whole thing.  He starts out by telling us to keep our heart sincere….to hold on to the assurance that God gave us a promise…to use our faith daily to stay strong.  Then he tells us to remember that we have been washed in his precious blood…and show our thankfulness by spurring one another on in love…and to meet together and give other strength. It all makes sense…and many of us understand exactly what he is saying here…waiting teaches us patience…just like the author of Romans 5:3 tells us that sometimes Gods uses our hardships to teach us to wait.

I could never thank you enough God for the great lessons you have used in my life to teach me how to wpassionait.  Help me to get better and better at it as you allow me to live daily on this Earth. Help me to realize each morning the importance of waiting on you to move in my life. Help me to stop creating commotion and making messes for you to clean up. Give me a clean heart …oh God…and renew a right spirit within my imperfect body.  Assure me of your love and help me to find ways to share my faith with others. Show me how best to encourage each person who crosses my pathway….and fellowship with others to recharge my energy to do your will. Amen.