“Bye buddy, Daddy’s going to work.”

My son, Levi, who is three-and-a-half, scooted off the couch, grabbed my shoes, ran and threw them on the back porch. He ran back smiling and said, “You sit with me.” I smiled back and we sat.

When God hides our shoes, He wants us to slow down. To stop for a moment.

“Will you sit with me?”

“Will you rest in me?”

“Will you wait for me?”

It’s not that we’re doing anything wrong. It’s not that we’re neglecting God. It’s not that our hearts are hardened.

Our plans are good. Our steps are well ordered. Our calendar makes the best use of our time.

The problem is that our strength falters. Our energy dwindles. Our sight weakens. Our faith wavers.

“God, when!”

“God, why!”

“God, how!”

“God, where!”

Our God, Elim Grace, is the God who has promised, “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31)

There will be a future sermon on this verse. But for now let me remind us that the strength of the Lord is waiting for those who wait for Him.

We are in a busy season. We are approaching the culmination of years of planning and work toward our new expansion. This means that we are growing weary in doing good and we must not give up! Now, more than ever, we are susceptible to temptation and, I believe, to the spiritual attacks and strategies of our enemy. We must stand firm. We must renew our strength. We must “wait for the Lord”.

But what does it mean to “wait”? One figurative meaning of the Hebrew word is that of binding or twisting together strands of rope.

The work of intertwining takes time, intention, focus, patience and commitment. Such is the work of learning to “wait.”

When God hides our shoes and calls us to “wait,” – when it seems like He is hiding His provision or what He is doing – He is teaching us to slow down long enough to further intertwine our hearts and lives with His. “A threefold cord is not quickly broken.” (Ecclesiastes 4:12)

It is frustrating on the one hand to slow down. To wait for what seems like forever. Yet, on the other hand, the only way to exchange and renew our strength for His is to “wait”.

So let us press on and press in to the Lord Jesus. Let us wait and intertwine our lives with His. Let us walk in hope and confidence. Let us run in love and obedience. Let us rise in faith and perseverance. And, yes, let us wait for Him and watch for His arrival. For He is coming and with Him a new day of life and ministry for Elim Grace.

Pastor Jonathan