My Soul in Stillness Waits – September 6, 2023

Creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. . . . We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time.
Romans 8:19,22

My Soul in Stillness Waits

When our first child was born, I was not allowed to be in the room. Like the wizard in the land of Oz, I had to stand behind the curtain. I could hear the groans of my wife. I could hear the doctor’s encouragement.
“You’re doing great.”
“I can see the head.”
“Here she comes.”
Then there was silence.

The silence was agonizing. Was it a boy or a girl? Was the child healthy? Was the child alive? The silence only lasted seconds. It felt like an eternity. I couldn’t wait for our child to be revealed. Then I heard the peace-inducing words: “Okay, Dad, you can see your daughter.”

Like a Father waiting behind the curtain for his child to be revealed, you and I are waiting eagerly for God to reveal what our existence will be like after this world ends, and he creates a perfect, new world for us to enjoy. While we wait, we groan as we endure the agonies of this imperfect world. Thankfully, though we don’t know what God is doing behind the scenes, he still speaks peace-inducing words to us in his Word, “You are my child. I am coming soon. In the meantime, take comfort. I know the plans I have for you, and I am working good in all things for you whom I love.”

And one day, what joy will be ours when we hear Jesus say, “Come, you who are blessed by my Father. Take your inheritance—the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world.” What joy. What joy. What joy.

Prayer: (Christian Worship: Hymnal – 325)
For you, O Lord, my soul in stillness waits, truly my hope is in you. O Root of Life, implant your seed within us, and in your advent, draw us all to you, our hope reborn in dying and in rising. Amen.