A Spirituality of Waiting - Part 1

Almost Heaven
by Thomas Kinkade



For I consider that the sufferings of this present time
are not worthy to be compared with the glory
which shall be revealed in us.

For the earnest expectation of the creation
eagerly waits for the revealing of the sons of God.

For the creation was subjected to futility,
not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it in hope;

because the creation itself also will be delivered
from the bondage of corruption
into the glorious liberty of the children of God.

For we know that the whole creation groans and labors
with birth pangs together until now.

Not only that, but we also who have the firstfruits of the Spirit,
even we ourselves groan within ourselves
eagerly waiting for the adoption,
the redemption of our body.

For we were saved in this hope,
but hope that is seen is not hope;
for why does one still hope for what he sees?

But if we hope for what we do not see,
we eagerly wait for it with perseverance.

Romans 8:18-25

These past days I shared my thoughts about a theology of weakness. Today, I will write about something that is very close to my heart - heaven.

What is it that you really long for, deep inside your heart? What is it that you really long to do? What is it that you really long to be?

Each one of us has a dream deep inside our true selves; every now and then we hear that dream calling out to us. If we are quiet enough, on some days, it comes to us--and time stops as we find ourselves alone with the still small voice of God.

The awesome thing is that He's not really saying anything... He's just there. You wake up in the middle of the night, you sit up in bed, and you sense His holy quiet, His unobtrusive gentle presence saying, "I'm here."

I call it an eternal moment.

Sometimes it is in the middle of a busy day at work, or of a household chore, when you suddenly feel like time is not moving, and you have an encounter with an eternal moment.

It's not always like God Himself is showing up. Sometimes it is a piece of your dream, sometimes it's a bubble of joy, a ray of hope. Suddenly you feel like shouting a line of a song you have never even heard before. Or you suddenly feel like dancing! It takes you by surprise.

I believe it is still the presence of the Eternal. Except that God's so great, so awesome, so quiet, so beautiful... He's so deep, and unfathomable, and beyond description.

It is God's presence, revealing Himself to us in a new way. He just loves to do that with us. He loves to set us free from the containers of our stale and worn out experiences.

When such moments take place, there are no words adequate enough to describe what's taking place. But it feels like you're almost... in heaven!

Have you ever been to heaven?

If God is our heavenly Father, and Jesus is our King, Redeemer, and Lord, then the answer is, "Yes, of course!" We actually live there! The Bible says that we're seated in the heavenlies with Christ -- and it's not a future, pie in the sky sort of thing. It's a NOW thing!

When the clouds of this earthly reality part to give us a glimpse of our eternal abode, don't you sometimes hear God say to you, "Welcome home, my child. THis ishow home feels like." And oh, how good it feels to be home indeed.

We don't belong in this world, but being here is a necessary, essential part of our journey toward our real home. This is important, too. Being here creates in us a right perspective, a deeper longing, a deeper hunger for God's heart.

The Bible says that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the eternal glory that will be revealed in us. Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.

This life and the next - NO COMPARISON WHATSOEVER... NOT WORTH COMPARING AT ALL!

God gives us those eternal moment encounters to remind us, to give us hope. God gives us a glimpse into the dream that He planted in us on the day we were conceived in His heart. This is an awesome thought for me: you and I were conceived in eternity, before the created world even came to be!

We are fearfully and wonderfully made because it was God Himself who knit us, and formed us in our mother's womb. What imperfections ther are have come about because of the sinful choices that have started a machinery of sin moving.

For now, we cannot fathom why it seems that God allows the corruption of sin to gain the upper hand, but we could never be in doubt as to Who has the final authority. And God allows the eternal to break through time and again to remind us about Who has the sovereign and the full power over all creation.

We are eternal creatures, creatures of eternity, citizens of that eternal kingdom waiting for our full adoption as sons.

Yes, our whole life here on earth is about a spirituality of waiting, a lovely phrase introduced by my favorite author, Henri Nouwen. These past days, I have shared many of my own reflections on a theology of weakness. A theology of weakness and a spirituality of waiting, I believe, are one and the same thing, if not closely intertwined, like a rope of three strands, with abiding faith in God as the third strand.

When we look at life from the perspective of heaven, we begin to understand the interesting paradoxes that we live with from day to day. To mention a few: He prepares a table before us in the presence of our enemies. We fear no evil though we walk in the valley of the shadow of death.

The past years, in my study of the spiritual disciplines I have realized that each one of them dovetails perfectly into a theology of weakness.

For example:
celebrating life's moments is recognizing what's truly important...
prayer is the heart's true home...
worship is giving God what truly pleases Him...
intercession is connecting to God's heart...
contemplation and solitude are fasting from this world's noise to be in touch with the Eternal...
servanthood is authority from below
humility and meekness are power under control
simplicity is putting God first before self...
joy is a by product of faith and hope, living life with a sense of reckless abandon....

These are all components of the simple, uncluttered lifestyle we've always wanted. Deep in our hearts, this is who we are. In the eternal kingdom of heaven this is what we will be like.

Have you ever stopped to consider that verse in 1 John 3:2-3

Dear friends, now we are the children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that whe He appears we shall be like Him, for we shall see Him as He is. And everyone who has this hope purifies himself...

Amazing verse. We are being purified and perfected to be like Jesus. At the end of time, when we finally see Him face to face, we will see that we have become like Him, a quality that enables us to see Him. Blessed are the pure in heart, for they shall see God. (Matthew 5:8)

This being so, a theology of weakness fills our hearts with much hope and longing, a determination to be like Jesus - in our speech, our attitudes, our expectations, our actions.

Our priorities fall into place. In light of eternity we live for what really matters.

We've often heard this question: "If you knew that you only had a few more days to live, how would you live?

If we've been living right, we could easily say: "In joyous anticipation of what lies ahead, looking forward to my going home!"

This quote from Creative Waiting by Richard Bewes expresses much of what my heart feels about waiting:

Waiting can be creative and restorative if we allow it to fulfill its purposes, rather than fighting and complaining. God's mighty revelation says, "Don't just wait." If we bring God into the waiting, a new surge of momentum will begin to transform the situation and make it a positive....

The word for "wait" indicates waiting with confident expectation. If we wait upon God, we can expect that good things are coming from the extra time that is passing. If there is a positive purpose to the wait, we can wait more comfortably....

But it is also true that the significant character-forming episodes of life are not the pinnacle moments of drama and achievement; they are the dull pedestrian times when nothing seems to be happening. Those are the times more than any other when we must hang on to God and wait for Him in the knowledge that His promise never changes. We wait on Him in patience, and faith, and obedience. He will lift us up, not simply as survivors, but as overcomers.

Here's a powerful song by Jason Upton, I Will Wait:



Continued in A Spirituality of Waiting - Part 2