Sometimes We Wait

I grew up sailing.  My family owned this little 12 foot sailboat.  It was loads of fun…sometimes. You see it had no motor.  We were totally dependent on the wind.  I remember some days there would be a pretty good breeze when we launched, but once we got out into the middle of the lake…no wind. Total calm.  And you just had to wait.  And wait.  And wait.  And it was hot.  And it was humid.  And you had to wait.

Finally after what seemed like an eternity, the breeze would return and we would begin to make our way back to shore.

It’s like that sometimes in the Christian life.  We feel dead in the water.  God seems as distant as the wind on a glassy-water day.  It’s during those times that I try to meditate on Philippians 1:6.  It says, “He who began a good work in you will be faithful to complete it.” That means that even when we don’t feel close to God, He is still at work.  He is faithful.  He is there.

Out in the middle of the lake, after all that waiting, something interesting happens.  You become very “tuned-in” to the wind and the air around you. You notice even the smallest movement of air on the side of your cheek or the back of your neck. You hear the tiniest ripple of the waves, hoping for a change.  Was that a faint puff of breeze?  I think it was! YES!  And you see the sail begin to fill.  And you hear the movement of the water as it slaps against the hull.  And you feel the boat begin to respond.  And move!

Sometimes we wait.  And wait.  And wait.  And when God moves, we have eyes to see and ears to hear…because we waited.

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