I find baggage claim carousels so strange. A crowd of people huddled shoulder to shoulder, staring wide-eyed and focused at the still conveyor belt like they are at concert waiting for their rock-hero to emerge from backstage. With several disturbingly loud rings and the flash of an obnoxious twirling red light, the conveyor belt begins to move and out come the bags—a line-up of colorful shapes bobbing along like a circus parade.
My friend Alison and I just flew to Spokane, Washington, and experienced the baggage claim phenomena. We talked about how odd it is that people take their baggage so seriously. After all, it’s just stuff. The minute after their plane touches down, it’s a mad dash to the baggage claim to sit and territorially watch for their prized possessions like a cat waiting patiently for a mouse to appear from a hole in the wall. All of their hope is packed, zippered, stamped, and locked in an encasement of fabric—Heaven forbid they should leave the airport without it. Their baggage is their lifeline—it contains the bikini in the front pocket that is needed to jump straight into the ocean when they arrive at their vacation spot, the blow dryer that will heroically transform their hair into a masterpiece for a date that evening, the aftershave they just can’t live without. The truth is, we could probably all live without what we pack into our checked bags. But, those little things inside our suitcases are needed—they are tools and trinkets that help us through the day, clothes to keep us covered, items to keep us entertained. Essentials. And that is why everyone—including myself—will wait so patiently at the baggage claim carousel, enduring elbow-bumping, babies crying, and sweaty grandpas. Because we wait for what we need.
Jason Upton sings a song I like called “I Will Wait for You”. In a voice filled with desperation and yearning He sings:
“ I will wait for you, Jesus,
You’re the sun in my horizon,
All my hope’s in you, Jesus,
I can feel you now arising.”
I have often waited for my red North Face backpack to swing around the bend of the baggage carousel like it’s the “sun in my horizon”, but waiting on Jesus...could it really be worth it?
Is He really that trustworthy? Absolutely. It is good to wait on the Lord. Isaiah says that “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 64:3-4) Whoo! That’s exciting. He acts on behalf of those who wait for him…in a way that no human mind can ever begin to understand or comprehend. How contradictory and counter-cultural to trust and rejoice in the long, tedious, and ultimately frustrating process of waiting. But we rejoice because we have great hope in the one we are waiting for. We wait on a truly awesome God—a God that can shake the heavenlies and make mountains melt like wax. And that very God wants to act on our behalf if we would just wait.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). I find it fascinating that in the Spanish translation of that verse, “due time” literally translates to “the owed time”. What a thought…that if we wait patiently for the Lord, all of our hope in Him alone, it is as if He gives us something that He owes to us for our waiting. Now, we all know that in reality God owes us nothing—but I think He truly delights in honoring us and blessing us for faithfully trusting in Him, waiting on Him when we would rather impulsively make things happen for ourselves. There is always something to be learned throughout the process of waiting—and whether or not we get what we are waiting for, we always get the greatest gift of all in the process—a new found closeness to our Heavenly Father and a lesson in how to trust in Him moment by moment. And our waiting never goes unrewarded. He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. It may not be the way we were expecting Him to act on our behalf, but it is always the best way, the greatest way—far beyond what we can imagine while we are in the middle of waiting.
When we wait at the baggage claim, we get out of it exactly what we put in…the same bag filled with the same things returns to us after our plane ride. When we wait on the Lord, we never know what we will get in return for our waiting. There is something so fresh and exciting about the newness of His promises and what He can do for those who wait patiently on Him.
Keep waiting!
My friend Alison and I just flew to Spokane, Washington, and experienced the baggage claim phenomena. We talked about how odd it is that people take their baggage so seriously. After all, it’s just stuff. The minute after their plane touches down, it’s a mad dash to the baggage claim to sit and territorially watch for their prized possessions like a cat waiting patiently for a mouse to appear from a hole in the wall. All of their hope is packed, zippered, stamped, and locked in an encasement of fabric—Heaven forbid they should leave the airport without it. Their baggage is their lifeline—it contains the bikini in the front pocket that is needed to jump straight into the ocean when they arrive at their vacation spot, the blow dryer that will heroically transform their hair into a masterpiece for a date that evening, the aftershave they just can’t live without. The truth is, we could probably all live without what we pack into our checked bags. But, those little things inside our suitcases are needed—they are tools and trinkets that help us through the day, clothes to keep us covered, items to keep us entertained. Essentials. And that is why everyone—including myself—will wait so patiently at the baggage claim carousel, enduring elbow-bumping, babies crying, and sweaty grandpas. Because we wait for what we need.
Jason Upton sings a song I like called “I Will Wait for You”. In a voice filled with desperation and yearning He sings:
“ I will wait for you, Jesus,
You’re the sun in my horizon,
All my hope’s in you, Jesus,
I can feel you now arising.”
I have often waited for my red North Face backpack to swing around the bend of the baggage carousel like it’s the “sun in my horizon”, but waiting on Jesus...could it really be worth it?
Is He really that trustworthy? Absolutely. It is good to wait on the Lord. Isaiah says that “Since ancient times no one has heard, no ear has perceived, no eye has seen any God besides you, who acts on behalf of those who wait for him.” (Isaiah 64:3-4) Whoo! That’s exciting. He acts on behalf of those who wait for him…in a way that no human mind can ever begin to understand or comprehend. How contradictory and counter-cultural to trust and rejoice in the long, tedious, and ultimately frustrating process of waiting. But we rejoice because we have great hope in the one we are waiting for. We wait on a truly awesome God—a God that can shake the heavenlies and make mountains melt like wax. And that very God wants to act on our behalf if we would just wait.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that He may lift you up in due time” (1 Peter 5:6). I find it fascinating that in the Spanish translation of that verse, “due time” literally translates to “the owed time”. What a thought…that if we wait patiently for the Lord, all of our hope in Him alone, it is as if He gives us something that He owes to us for our waiting. Now, we all know that in reality God owes us nothing—but I think He truly delights in honoring us and blessing us for faithfully trusting in Him, waiting on Him when we would rather impulsively make things happen for ourselves. There is always something to be learned throughout the process of waiting—and whether or not we get what we are waiting for, we always get the greatest gift of all in the process—a new found closeness to our Heavenly Father and a lesson in how to trust in Him moment by moment. And our waiting never goes unrewarded. He acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. It may not be the way we were expecting Him to act on our behalf, but it is always the best way, the greatest way—far beyond what we can imagine while we are in the middle of waiting.
When we wait at the baggage claim, we get out of it exactly what we put in…the same bag filled with the same things returns to us after our plane ride. When we wait on the Lord, we never know what we will get in return for our waiting. There is something so fresh and exciting about the newness of His promises and what He can do for those who wait patiently on Him.
Keep waiting!
there's nothing like a good wotl.
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