On Waiting
A recent visit to the theatre to see ‘Joseph And His Amazing Technicolour Dreamcoat’ (a title so long and cumbersome I feel a great deal of affinity with it!) has set me re-reading the life of Joseph, one of my favourite Bible characters.
Joseph’s life is a study in God’s sovereignty, and how even misfortune, jealousy, injustice and villainy are woven into His plans. His life is also a study in patient waiting, and in trusting God when nothing positive is on the report cards, and since waiting is the lot allocated to us all at some point in life, it has a timeless resonance to it we do well to ponder.
Waiting for God’s plans to be fulfilled is one of the hardest things we ever have to do. When God speaks to us with dreams and visions, burning His purposes into our hearts, passion, zeal and faith are high. We imagine a linear upward trajectory leading to glory. Instead, Joseph plummeted downwards, the harsh reality of his family’s disfavour leaving him sold into slavery, abandoned in a distant country.
Joseph adapts, trying to serve faithfully in his new role, his talents shining through, but then life deals another cruel blow in the form of Potiphar’s wife, trying to seduce him. Hell hath no fury like a woman scorned, and so the next thing that happens is Joseph is unjustly thrown into prison for a crime he did not commit.
Years pass. There’s a ray of hope as Joseph interprets the dreams of important Egyptian officials and hopes the ‘it’s-who-you-know’ philosophy of life will secure his release from prison…. only to find his life-saving generosity is forgotten (yes, just forgotten) for another two whole years.
Waiting is not easy.
I’m struck by Joseph’s patience in contrast to how most of us respond to misfortune. We believe it’s God who has forgotten us, not the cupbearer. Like the king in a time of famine, we cry out, ‘This disaster is from the Lord. Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?’ (2 Kings 6:33)
Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?
Like Saul waiting for Samuel to arrive, obedience slips away, and we resort to the expedient, to the pragmatic, to manipulation. We conclude that God has either forgotten about us or doesn’t care, so it’s all down to us to sort out the future we want (and thought He had promised.)
The problem with our faithless impatience is that God has promised us the impossible, and no amount of human scheming, plotting, manipulation, effort and sheer hard work can bring about the impossible.
And so we find ourselves exhausted and broken, even if to the outside world we look successful and to be envied.
Joseph did not spend his entire life in prison. There came a moment in God’s timing and sovereignty when Pharaoh, the ruler of Egypt, had a baffling God-dream himself. The cupbearer belatedly (to us!) remembered Joseph, and he was hauled out of prison, spruced up and presented as the solution. God gave him the interpretation of Pharaoh’s dream, and before he knew it, Joseph was second-in-command to Pharaoh and responsible for running a feeding programme that saved the world (including his own family, who did indeed bow down to him, just as he had said they would.)
How long did Joseph have to wait?
Over 20 years.
How long did Abraham have to wait for his miracle son?
About 25 years.
How long before the end of the Old Testament and the birth of Jesus?
About 400 years.
How long between the ascension of Jesus into heaven and His return to earth as King of Kings?
Two thousand years and still counting.
Peter reminds us nonetheless that the Lord is not slow in keeping His promises. (2 Peter 3:9) If you’re at the point of saying, ‘Why should I wait for the Lord any longer?’, if you’re close to giving up on God and His promises, study these stories slowly, with an eye to the timings, and ponder these reasons to keep on waiting for the Lord:
- The God who promises things is faithful. (Hebrews 10:23)
- Nothing can thwart God’s plans. The story of Joseph is a story of expert planning, miraculous intervention and a sovereignty that is breathtaking in scope. Life cannot foil God’s plans. Even evil is made to serve God’s purposes. (Just look at the cross.) (Rom 8:28)
- God is good and His love endures forever. (Ps 136:1)
- Waiting will shape you if you keep trusting God. The Joseph who could forgive his brothers was a very different person to the teenager whose boasting had not actually helped his situation. Sometimes we are just not ready until we are shaped by God through life.
- For the impossible to happen, God has to show up. If you’ve given up on the impossible, waiting seems a waste of time. If you still want to see the impossible happen, your only hope is God. (Matt 19:26)
So wait for God. And keep on waiting. (Ps 27:14)