Waiting--July 6 devotion

Waiting. We seem to always be involved in waiting. I will admit that I am not very patient with waiting. Traffic, doctor’s office, restaurant, airport, and so many other places where we seem to be stuck waiting. Then there are the bigger waits, for vacation, the family visits, weddings, 1st day of school, spring, driver’s license, graduation, the inevitable death of a sick loved one and, of course, the birth of a baby. Most of those waits have an end in sight. We know it won’t last forever even though it may seem like it at times. Simeon in Luke chapter 2, was waiting also. Like many Jews, he was waiting for the coming Messiah. Unlike the others, Simeon had a promise from God that the Messiah would come in his lifetime. As Christians, we have a big wait as we wait for the second coming of Christ. We also know that it won’t last forever. There will be an end. But, unlike Simeon, we do not have the promise that it will be in our lifetime. The Bible tells us in Matthew 24 that no one knows the day or the hour of Christ’s return.
While we wait for that second coming, we still have the opportunity to regularly come face-to-face with our Savior in Holy Communion. It is following this time of Communion that we can join in the words of Simeon from Luke 2.29-32.
29"Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace,
according to your word;
30for my eyes have seen your salvation
31 that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples,
32 a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
and or glory to your people Israel."
Then we can return to our families, neighborhoods, and jobs with renewed encouragement to face the wait and to share Christ with others so that they may join us in the fellowship.

Heavenly Father, We praise You for Your perfect timing. Please teach us to wait patiently and to use those times of waiting as a service to You. Come, quickly, Lord! Amen