Joy in the waiting room

“Do not let your hearts be troubled. Trust in God; trust also in me.” Jesus in John 14:1

Waiting patiently is hard to do. The feeling of, “I just can’t wait for …” can so quickly turn from excitement to frustration. Like in the Proverb, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick” (13:12). I guess the truth is that we can find it hard to wait joyfully. Somewhere along the line, and in our default responses, the joy that is possible, and even appropriate, can be lost.

We are waiting for our new baby boy. Everything is ready and we just want to meet him and hold him. He is actually due to be born today. But of course we don’t know exactly when he will be born, so it’s not the same as waiting for a particular time or a given moment. I have such a great reason to be joyful but I’m stilling learning how to wait well.

As we wait it is easy to disengage, to get distracted from the promise because it’s hard to stay excited and keep believing. I can easily stop praying and focussing on it and think about getting busy or getting rest – finding some way to postpone hope and its potential for frustration along the way.

Instead of the joy of expectation we can be ripped off by the risk of disappointment. What if all our prayers aren’t answered? I think that this is where it is so easy to disengage, because fear actually becomes our expectation and it’s easier just to back away from the whole thing.

Fear is a joy-thief. I find that it distracts me, I take my eyes off Jesus and His promises, and then it binds me. Jesus has told me not to let my heart be troubled. I have stewardship over my heart and it is up to me not to say ‘yes’ to distraction and fear.

So I tell my heart to focus. I tell it not to fear. I have a Saviour in whom I can trust. He will be with me in every moment. I tell my heart to believe, to engage. I let my heart be excited. I let my heart receive joy.

I will pray and I will praise. I will engage and enjoy. I know that I will soon meet my son. And I know that my heavenly Father is still looking out for me.