Clock Watching

Every now and then I see folks take a subtle look at their watches. Some times it is a not so subtle look -- could there be a message there? And there are times I do a fair amount of clock watching, too. There are more than a few meetings in which I snuck a glance at the watch to see how much time had passed. School children watch the clock, so do their parents at work, and in the waiting rooms of America the time passes ever so slowly that we watch the clock seem to do nothing at all.

Our lives can often be spent in clock watching. We have a time table for things to happen and we watch the clock waiting for school to give way to what we think of as real life. We watch the clock waiting for that certain someone to touch our lives. We watch the clock waiting for a child to turn two into a whole new family. We watch the clock as our children grow up. We watch the clock in hospital rooms waiting for new we hope is good. We watch the clock until finally we no longer want the time to pass quickly -- we want it to slow down. Then we watch the clock in a vain attempt at keeping the sand in the hourglass... until the clock stops.

In contrast to this chronological view of time, God looks at the right moment, the foulness of time. It is not a matter of the clock but of all things being in order for His purpose. In this world we are caught between the clocks we watch and the faith that waits upon the Lord. It can be a difficult tension and sometimes it is a terrible chasm.

But faith waits... waits upon God, not as a parent waits for a child that is taking too long but as one who trusts that the Lord of time knows when the time is full, when the moment is ripe, and when to act or not to act. Faith waits upon the Lord even while a part of us stares at the slowly moving second hand of our lives. Faith waits upon the Lord even when the hour is late and there is little sign of God's activity. Faith waits upon the Lord even when the day is done and everyone else has given up and gone home.

Faith waits... upon the timing of God... the right and full time when grace redeems the moment... bringing hope out of despair... bringing joy out of sorrow... bringing comfort out of turmoil... bringing peace out of trouble... the all sufficient grace that persuades us... trust me and be at peace.

Faith waits... but we don't always like to wait -- not even on God. Yet the goal and purpose of faith is to learn to wait... to be at peace waiting... on the God whose Word does not disappoint but accomplishes its purpose always...

My soul waits on the Lord...