Month: October 2025

Wait For It. . . Wait For It. . .

During a recent Sunday, one of the scripture readings was from the Old Testament book of Habakkuk. It was from the second chapter, verses 1-4. It was as follows:

I will take my stand at my watchpost
and station myself on the tower,
and look out to see what he will say to me,
and what I will answer concerning my complaint.

And the Lord answered me:

“Write the vision;
make it plain on tablets,
so he may run who reads it.
For still the vision awaits its appointed time;
it hastens to the end—it will not lie.
If it seems slow, wait for it;
it will surely come; it will not delay.”

“Behold, his soul is puffed up; it is not upright within him,
but the righteous shall live by his faith.

As usual, I followed along as the passage was read aloud. Of course, the final verse about the righteous rang a bell, because it is quoted in Romans 1:17. and was core to Luther’s breakthrough understanding of salvation through faith alone. But in addition to that, I took note of the phrase, “wait for it,” and it made me smile.

Why? Because the phrase, “Wait for it” is used by comedians. They say,, “Wait for it . . . wait for it. . .” to build suspense in anticipation of the punch line. Likewise, when a video is rolling, the commentator says it to keep the viewers’ attention while the video plays out. The video may look mundane until the end, when an unexpected twist “pays off” the recording with humor. The words, “Wait for it” signal something is coming that is worth waiting for.

Now, I’m not used to imagining punch lines in church when I listen to scripture readings. But, while not always having humorous endings, there are many times in our lives when we have to “wait for it.” Maybe it’s when we wait for the school year to end (or for the school day to end, when the class is really boring!). We wait for our wedding day, for a child to be born (and the pregnancy to end). We wait for adulthood, a job to begin, or for it to end at retirement. In fact, waiting is a sign of maturity; a child wants it NOW, an adult accepts deferred gratification.

Waiting is also a sign of Christian maturity. In fact, the Christian life is defined by waiting, both in aspects of our daily life, and in the ultimate wait for the return of Christ and the end of the age.

The Christian life is defined by waiting.

Certainly, God himself commands us to wait. Besides the command in Habakkuk, Jesus told his disciples before his Ascension  to wait in Jerusalem for the coming of the Holy Spirit: “And while staying with them he ordered them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the promise of the Father, which, he said, ‘you heard from me; for John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.’” (Acts 1:4-5).

In fact, scripture is full of believers waiting for God to act. We are to  . . .

wait for it -Habakkuk 2. God will punish Judah for its idolatry and evil; the proud evildoers will perish, but the righteous will live by faith.

wait for it – Revelation 6:9-11 says, “When he opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of those who had been slain for the word of God and for the witness they had borne.  They cried out with a loud voice, “O Sovereign Lord, holy and true, how long before you will judge and avenge our blood on those who dwell on the earth?” Then they were each given a white robe and told to rest a little longer, until the number of their fellow servants and their brothers should be complete, who were to be killed as they themselves had been.” God will avenge evil in his time.

wait for it – 2 Peter  3:9 reads, “The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” God wants as many people to be saved as possible while we wait for his vengeance to unfold.

wait for it – Isaiah 30:18 says, “For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those who wait for him.” Good news, as we wait for justice in our world today.

wait for it – 1 Peter 3:20, “when God’s patience waited in the days of Noah, while the ark was being prepared, in which a few, that is, eight persons, were brought safely through water.” Even God waits for the right timing!

wait for it – “Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield.” (Psalm 33:20).

wait for it –  Luke 3:15 says, “As the people were in expectation, and all were questioning in their hearts concerning John, whether he might be the Christ.” Jesus was revealed to be the Christ in due time. Until then, he forbade his disciples announcing it.

wait for it – Romans 8:19 declares, “For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God.” We’re still waiting . . .

wait for it – the Second Coming. Amen. Come, Lord Jesus!

Waiting is a mark of faith. When we don’t yet see what we know/want is coming, we must be patient. Why should we wait? And how do we wait when our eyes don’t see what we are waiting for?

    1. If God has promised it, it’s worth waiting for. God’s promises are not for some fleeting, temporary benefit. They are about the future, forgiveness, and eternal life. They are about reconciliation with God and the indwelling of the Holy Spirit. They are about the fulfillment of God’s love for us.
    2.  We can trust God’s promises, because he has already fulfilled many promises in the past. His promises to Noah, Abraham, and Israel (both the man and the nation) are evidence; ultimately in the birth, life, and death -and the meaning of – Jesus Christ, we see the most important fulfillment. As Paul told us through 2 Corinthian 1:20, “For all the promises of God find their Yes in him.”
    3. As Hebrews 11 tells us, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.” When we have to wait for the fulfillment of God’s promises, we  are showing faith by believing, even though we don’t yet see it. Such faith honors God by trusting in him.
    4. It’s the adult thing to do. Unlike an infant who wants what it desires now we know when we wait for promises to be fulfilled, they will be even better and sweeter than we expect. For, in our present state, our understanding of God’s promises is limited: “What no eye has seen, nor ear heard, nor the heart of man imagined, what God has prepared for those who love him” (1 Corinthians 2:9).

It’s no joke: when we “wait for it,” (if it is God’s promises), we will be blessed beyond all earthly measure. And that is worth waiting for!

Now may the Lord bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Isaiah 25:8; Romans 15:8; Revelation 21:3-5.

Revival! Part 2

In my last blog, I told about the disagreement between Christians over how people are saved: do people choose God, or does God choose people? Does God predestined who will be saved, or do people have the free will to believe in God and thus be saved? I promised to give my understanding of how the two truths, God’s sovereignty and our responsibility, interact to affect both personal faith and revivals. So, here goes . . .

While I was in seminary, during the last century (nay, the last millennium), the big debate was between Calvinism and Arminianism. Every professor talked about it; even students in the cafeteria debated it during meals. It was a hot issue. To repeat from last time,

  • Calvinism teaches that God determined, before he created anyone, who would be saved and who would go to hell. Because he is sovereign, his will, will be done. No one can change the outcome, his grace is irresistible, and as his chosen, you cannot fall from grace.
  • Arminianism teaches that man has free will. People can decide to believe, or not. They can fall away. God is sovereign, but has chosen to save those who believe. The gospel call is a true call and promise to all who choose to believe.
  • What both sides agree on: we are all sinners in need of salvation, and no one can do works to save him or herself. And that both views are logically opposed and cannot be merged. There is no such thing as “Cal-minianism.”

One of my professors said something interesting: you cannot decide which view is correct by a preponderance of evidence. According to him, the New Testament has 28 verses/passages supporting each view.

For example, one passage which  Calvinists quote is Ephesians 2:8-10, which says, “For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith – and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast.” This passage affirms that even the faith that saves is a gift from God.

Another passage Ephesians 1:4-5, “he chose us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and blameless before him. In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will.” Add to that, Ephesians 1:11, “In him we have obtained an inheritance, having been predestined according to the purpose of him who works all things according to the counsel of his will.” These passages support the Calvinist view that God predestined people to be saved according to his will before they were even created. Calvinism wins!

On the other hand, Arminians quote passages like Matthew 13:1-9 and 18-33. in which Jesus warned, through the Parable of the Sower, that some people will believe the word of God, some will not, and others will start strong and then fall away.

Or John 3:16, which says, “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life.” Note the phrase, “that whoever believes will be saved.” Belief is the based of salvation. 

Or, 2 Peter 3:9, which says, “[God]  is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” If God does not want anyone to perish, and his will is always done, then why doesn’t everyone believe and repent, and thus be saved?

Finally, there is the verse after the one Calvinists quote from Ephesians 1:11. Verse 13 says, “In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit.” Someone Paul is addressing was included by hearing and believing. He apparently doesn’t include them among the predestined verse 11) so who are they? Gentiles? Everyday believers not chosen as apostles? 

My answer to the professor (both then and now) regarding the equal support of each view, is that in some way, both must be true. Since both are proclaimed in God’s word, and “Scripture cannot be broken” (John 10:35), we must accept that God has taught us through a paradox.

The Bible is full of paradoxes in which the truth is found in the tension between both sides. To fall off either side is to fall into error. For example, some paradoxes are: God as One and Three; Jesus as God and man; man in the image of God, and a sinner; faith as necessary and yet dead without works; Jesus as Lamb and Lion; works won’t save, yet God prepared works for us to do; and as we see here, God’s choice and our choice.

The paradoxical passage to which I turn is Ephesians 1:11-14, which combines “we,” having been predestined, with “you also,” having believed.

Christ provides salvation through what he did on the Cross. Without that, we would all be lost. The Holy Spirit convicts us of our sin and of the truth of the Gospel; without his work, we would be lost. Without the Father’s forgiveness, we would not be adopted as his children (John 1:12), and therefore lost. God decided that Christ would die for our sins before any sin was committed – Jesus was slain from the foundation of the world (1 Peter 1:20). This is all God’s doing.

Yet, God has also determined that we must also have faith. As Hebrews 11:6 says, “And without faith it is impossible to please him, for whoever would draw near to God must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who seek him.” This is our responsibility.

I had a Bible teacher who put it this way: When you arrive in heaven, there is a sign over the gate that says, “Welcome to all who believe!” Then, when you pass through the gate, you look back up at the sign, and that side reads, “I chose you from the foundation of the world!”

Ultimately, it is not something we can resolve neatly. But we don’t have to. Our duty is to believe, and trust God to take care of everything. As Proverbs 3:5-6 tells us, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.” That’s a good enough answer for me!

Now may the Lord Bless you and keep you, the Lord make his face to shine upon you and be gracious to you, the Lord lift up his countenance upon you and give you peace. Amen.

Read: Ephesians 1:11-14