What. The. Wait...

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These are strange times we live in. Nothing we consider normal seems to be normal anymore. Things we take for granted, we no longer take for granted. There is fear and frustration, and no one seems to agree on what we should or should not do. What we can agree upon is that COVID-19 is not a good thing. It has afflicted millions, killed over 100,000 people, destroyed our economy and put more people out of work than anything since the Great Depression.

It's the work of the ENEMY. It's BAD. It's a CURSE.

Or is it?

When you look in God's Word, you seem to find a pattern. You find that our God is not only great and compassionate but purposeful and intentional. Throughout history, whenever God was about to do something BIG, it was preceded by a time of waiting; A time when He put His people on the shelf. A time when they were required to shelter in place. A time that looked bad on the surface but ultimately revealed the greatness and glory of His plan and purpose. 

 Let me give you just a few examples:

  • Noah spent a year in a boat filled with animals after watching mankind be destroyed outside the Ark only to see God replenish the earth and create a new covenant with mankind.
  • Jacob spent 20 years of his life hidden away in fear of his brother Esau only to see God change his heart, his name to Israel and create a great nation through him.
  • Joseph spent his years from age 17 to 30 in a pit, then slavery, and prison only to be elevated to second in command in Egypt and save his family and nation from starvation.
  • Moses spent 40 years in the desert before God called him out to set His people free from slavery in Egypt. Then, he spent another 40 years in the desert until the time was fulfilled and the people were ready to enter the Promised Land.
  • Naomi was stuck in Moab so long that she became bitter until she met Ruth and the course of the history of God's people was changed dramatically.
  • David was anointed king of Israel but it was a full 15 years before he actually became king. Those years were spent hiding from Saul, who was obsessed with killing him. Those 15 years weren't wasted but were the time it took God to make him the greatest king in the history of Israel and, more importantly, a man "after God's own heart."
  • Jonah spent 3 days in the stomach of a fish, only to come out and be used to bring about one of the most unexpected revivals in all of history as the wicked Ninevites turned to God.
  • Daniel spent 70 years in exile, but out of that came the prophetic book outlining Israel's future.
  • Jesus spent 3 days laying in a tomb before the cornerstone of our faith came into being...the RESURRECTION!
  • Paul spent 3 years in the Arabian desert, only to become the greatest missionary in the history of the Church. Then he spent his final years sitting in a Roman prison but out of that came his Prison Epistles, the most powerful application of the gospel to the Church.
  • Even Jesus' disciples were told to wait in the Upper Room for 10 days. Most people believe Jesus' last words to his disciples were"Go" but, look again... At the end of the Gospels, He told them to "Go!" But, in the book of Acts, his very last words to them before he left the earth was "Wait." Wait for the Holy Spirit. Wait for the power. Wait...because I'm about to do something bigger than you could ever imagine. But first, you have to wait.



I have no idea what God is up to. I know that COVID-19 did not take God by surprise. He has a plan for it...and it is something BIG. God never puts His people on the shelf and makes them wait, makes them question, or even makes them frustrated, without a purpose. He is a God that is consistently intentional and purposeful. 

So, rather than frustration and fear and arguing about whether we should be meeting or if we should or shouldn't be wearing masks, we should be praying and preparing for what is coming. Maybe we should be asking God what He's up to. Perhaps we should focus less on our own inconvenience and more on how God is planning on using us to carry out His plan. Maybe we could see beyond ourselves and come to the point that Joseph came to when he realized God had been setting him up to save the brothers who had sold him into slavery...


"As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today." Genesis 50:20 ESV

COVID-19 is something that our enemy meant for evil. But, let's not become so consumed in that part that we miss what God intends for good.

What do you think He's up to? I don't know either...but I'm absolutely certain that I DON'T WANT TO MISS A THING!

So, here's my encouragement to you. Are you ready?

WAIT WELL.

"Yet those who WAIT for the Lord
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary." Isaiah 40:31 NASB


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