Waiting. One can conclude it gets us in line with God’s will.
In his book, Therefore I Have Hope, Cameron Cole writes about the death of his young son. The following is an excerpt from the book and describes what he determined was the only way he and his wife could heal from the death of their son-
‘’God says in Psalm 119:105 that ‘[his] word is a lamp to [our] feet.’ Notice, this is not a flashlight or a spotlight; it is simply a lamp for our feet. Just enough light for what is immediately before us. This means that He intends for His Word to guide us for the next step. Not for the month or the year. Just the next step.’’
What does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the Scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith and teaches patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and endurance.
Teaching waiting is a very important discipline as it relates to life, but more importantly as it relates to life in Christ. In a time when waiting is more about seconds than weeks, teaching waiting supports the faith that God graciously provides. When microwaves, Google and Amazon give us what we want quickly, it’s important to teach waiting because waiting strengthens faith.
We can (and do) teach waiting in our Lutheran schools by the following-
*Teaching patience - Teach time, goals (rather than now, immediate response; let’s see what happens- science)
*Teaching humility - Teach service, chores, responsibilities, care for others (classmates and the elderly)
*Teaching endurance - Assigning long term projects, and including health and fitness as daily parts of the curriculum
*Teaching the commandments - Know them (memorize and study them), talk about the issues within the commandments, demonstrate consequences of disobeying the commandments
