November 25
(Psalm 130:5-8 NIV) “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. {6} My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning. {7} O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is unfailing love and with him is full redemption. {8} He himself will redeem Israel from all their sins.”
(Isaiah 30:18 NIV) “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; he rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”
(Lamentations 3:19-26 NIV) “I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. {20} I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me. {21} Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope: {22} Because of the Lord's great love we are not consumed, for his compassions never fail. {23} They are new every morning; great is your faithfulness. {24} I say to myself, "The Lord is my portion; therefore I will wait for him." {25} The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him; {26} it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
(Romans 8:18-28 NIV) “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. {19} The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed. {20} For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope {21} that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. {22} We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. {23} Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. {24} For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has? {25} But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently. {26} In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express. {27} And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will. {28} And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.”
Hope and waiting have a love/hate relationship in our lives. We love to feel hopeful, but we hate to wait. However, unless we have to wait on something, we have no need for hope. We do not hope for what we already have. If we are not careful, we can end up despising the wait which causes us to need the hope that we love. Hope in the Lord is what separates those of faith from those who are faithless. If we are alive, we will endure affliction. In this world we wait, and as we wait, hope becomes a precious commodity. Glory is coming, but suffering is the present reality. We groan, as our souls await God’s redemption. We put our hope in the Lord and His word. His compassions are new every day. They never fail and we are not consumed. Meanwhile we patiently wait for His glory to be revealed -- and with the waiting comes blessing. -- Friar Tuck’s Word of the Day
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