In this ‘instant’ world, waiting is something we have forgotten how to do

IF we have ever wondered how patient we are then we have had plenty of chance to find out in the last two months.

We may have had to wait in a queue for the supermarket, worry about when a payment will arrive to keep the cash flow going or simply asked ourselves for the umpteenth time, “When will this all be over?”

We may well have discovered that waiting is not something that we like to do. We live in an instant world. We eat microwaved meals ready in seconds and simply add hot water to a spoonful of coffee granules.

Advertisers tell us they can change our utility supplier “instantly” and online banking means money moves in (and out) of our account instantly. Even those “I’ve forgotten a birthday /anniversary” moments are no longer a threat as we can order a gift late at night assured of next day delivery.

Waiting is something we have forgotten how to do. It is disturbing then to see that following the momentous events of the first Easter,

Jesus told his disciples that they had to wait for what came next. His followers had invested so many expectations in what Jesus would do, that this command to wait must have been a huge time of stress and concern for them.

But they did wait and this weekend the church will celebrate through its Pentecost services how they were rewarded for their patience. As they waited and prayed together, God met with them in a powerful way as he gave them the resources of His Holy Spirit, which enabled them to leave their locked room and, in the words of one historian, “turn the world upside down”.

At this time of waiting, may we too discover the supernatural power that God will give to those who are ready to receive. When life returns to some kind of normal there will be much to do and we will do it better if we rely not on our own abilities but, as the Apostle Paul discovered, “through the strength that Christ gives us”.