WEBVTT NOTE This file was generated by Descript 00:00:03.206 --> 00:00:05.756 Rusty George: I'm not a fan of waiting rooms, but truthfully, 00:00:05.756 --> 00:00:07.616 who is doctor's offices? 00:00:07.616 --> 00:00:09.536 DMV Airport Gates. 00:00:09.536 --> 00:00:10.136 When your flight's. 00:00:11.366 --> 00:00:14.456 There's something about waiting that just grates on us. 00:00:15.026 --> 00:00:17.096 We're checking our phones every 30 seconds. 00:00:17.096 --> 00:00:20.666 We're sighing loudly, hoping someone notices our frustration. 00:00:20.996 --> 00:00:23.756 It makes time stretch on so long. 00:00:26.151 --> 00:00:27.201 But here's the thing. 00:00:27.201 --> 00:00:29.751 Our entire faith is built on waiting. 00:00:29.991 --> 00:00:34.371 The Old Testament, 4,000 years of waiting for a Messiah, the New Testament, 00:00:34.371 --> 00:00:36.591 2000 years waiting for his return. 00:00:37.041 --> 00:00:37.546 Your life. 00:00:38.301 --> 00:00:39.411 Waiting for healing. 00:00:39.591 --> 00:00:40.701 Waiting for answers. 00:00:40.701 --> 00:00:42.261 Waiting for breakthrough. 00:00:50.485 --> 00:00:51.625 Well, Tom Petty got it. 00:00:51.925 --> 00:00:53.635 The waiting is the hardest part. 00:00:54.385 --> 00:00:57.625 But what if I told you that the waiting isn't wasted time? 00:00:57.955 --> 00:01:01.405 What if the waiting is actually where God does his best work? 00:01:18.782 --> 00:01:22.412 let's be honest, we live in an instant, everything culture, Amazon 00:01:22.412 --> 00:01:24.392 Prime, two day shipping is too slow. 00:01:24.392 --> 00:01:25.257 We want it same day. 00:01:25.892 --> 00:01:30.122 Netflix, we binge entire seasons in a weekend because waiting for next 00:01:30.122 --> 00:01:32.732 week's episode is torture food. 00:01:33.002 --> 00:01:34.052 We don't cook anymore. 00:01:34.082 --> 00:01:39.542 We DoorDash, we've trained ourselves that waiting equals wasting. 00:01:41.012 --> 00:01:43.082 That's us trying to speed up God's timeline. 00:01:43.082 --> 00:01:44.402 It, it doesn't end well. 00:01:45.692 --> 00:01:49.022 Listen, I get it because the stuff we're waiting for, it's not trivial. 00:01:49.082 --> 00:01:52.292 Maybe you're waiting for a diagnosis that makes sense, a 00:01:52.292 --> 00:01:54.242 relationship to be restored. 00:01:54.422 --> 00:01:56.282 A job that actually fulfills you. 00:01:56.522 --> 00:01:58.442 Kids who finally get their act together. 00:01:58.682 --> 00:01:59.852 Financial breakthrough. 00:01:59.852 --> 00:02:01.322 That's been years in the making. 00:02:02.012 --> 00:02:05.492 The apostle Paul knew about waiting in Romans 8 25. 00:02:05.492 --> 00:02:10.292 He writes, but if we hope for what we do not have, we wait for it patiently. 00:02:11.162 --> 00:02:17.282 The Greek word there for wait patiently is a deeth, which means to wait with 00:02:17.282 --> 00:02:21.302 outstretched hands like a little boy on tip toes at the window, watching for 00:02:21.302 --> 00:02:23.222 his dad's car to pull in the driveway. 00:02:23.612 --> 00:02:25.622 It's not passive, it's not resigned. 00:02:25.622 --> 00:02:28.472 It's eager and active anticipation. 00:02:29.492 --> 00:02:31.562 Let me take you through some waiting rooms in scripture. 00:02:32.102 --> 00:02:35.792 Abraham and Sarah waited 25 years for the promise of a son. 00:02:36.452 --> 00:02:40.142 Sarah literally laughed when God said she'd have a baby at 90, 00:02:40.742 --> 00:02:42.662 but Isaac's name means laughter. 00:02:43.112 --> 00:02:44.432 God gets the last laugh. 00:02:45.782 --> 00:02:49.652 Joseph was betrayed by his brothers falsely accused, thrown into prison. 00:02:49.802 --> 00:02:52.742 Waited 13 years before God's promise came true. 00:02:53.747 --> 00:02:58.967 Genesis 50 20 says, you intended to harm me, but God intended it for good. 00:03:00.407 --> 00:03:05.687 David anointed as king at 15, didn't make the throne until he was 30. 00:03:05.927 --> 00:03:08.897 That's 15 years of running from Saul, hiding in caves, 00:03:08.897 --> 00:03:10.547 wondering if God forgot about him. 00:03:11.694 --> 00:03:15.239 Israel, waited 400 years through silence between the Old 00:03:15.519 --> 00:03:16.879 Testament and the New Testament. 00:03:17.484 --> 00:03:20.694 No prophets, no word from God, just waiting. 00:03:21.594 --> 00:03:26.604 And then the people waiting in darkness have seen a great light. 00:03:28.914 --> 00:03:32.064 So here's what I've learned, and trust me, I've learned this the hard way. 00:03:32.064 --> 00:03:37.014 God is more interested in who you are becoming than what you are getting. 00:03:38.124 --> 00:03:42.174 When Lori and I moved from Kentucky to California 20 some years ago, I went 00:03:42.174 --> 00:03:43.974 through a season of deep discouragement. 00:03:44.544 --> 00:03:46.164 Our church was meeting in a movie theater. 00:03:46.164 --> 00:03:47.154 It was expensive. 00:03:47.154 --> 00:03:49.944 We were far from family with a 1-year-old daughter. 00:03:50.244 --> 00:03:54.234 The church felt stuck and I remember thinking, God, I 00:03:54.234 --> 00:03:55.284 thought you called me here. 00:03:55.404 --> 00:03:56.274 Did I miss it? 00:03:56.634 --> 00:03:57.564 Should we just go home? 00:03:58.494 --> 00:03:59.544 I was in a waiting room. 00:04:00.174 --> 00:04:02.814 I brought my family with me and I hated it. 00:04:03.939 --> 00:04:05.049 But here's what I didn't see. 00:04:05.289 --> 00:04:09.189 God was doing work in me that couldn't happen any other way. 00:04:09.489 --> 00:04:10.869 He was teaching me dependence. 00:04:10.869 --> 00:04:13.269 He was stripping away my need for approval. 00:04:13.269 --> 00:04:16.899 He was showing me that ministry isn't about my success, 00:04:16.899 --> 00:04:18.609 it's about his faithfulness. 00:04:19.539 --> 00:04:22.509 James one, three and four says, the testing of your faith produces 00:04:23.319 --> 00:04:27.789 perseverance, so let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature 00:04:27.789 --> 00:04:29.464 and complete, not lacking anything. 00:04:30.639 --> 00:04:33.669 The waiting isn't punishment, it's preparation. 00:04:34.749 --> 00:04:36.789 There are three things that God does in the waiting. 00:04:36.789 --> 00:04:39.249 The first is he deepens your trust. 00:04:39.999 --> 00:04:43.539 When you can't see the path forward, you learn to trust the guide. 00:04:44.079 --> 00:04:47.052 Abraham didn't know how God would fulfill the promise. 00:04:47.052 --> 00:04:48.462 He just knew God would. 00:04:49.152 --> 00:04:53.772 Romans four 20 and 21 says, Abraham did not waiver through unbelief 00:04:53.772 --> 00:04:57.282 regarding the promise of God, but he was strengthened in his faith. 00:04:57.897 --> 00:05:01.887 Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. 00:05:03.567 --> 00:05:06.417 The second thing is God refines your character. 00:05:06.897 --> 00:05:08.937 Gold doesn't become pure without fire. 00:05:08.937 --> 00:05:13.257 Diamonds don't form without pressure, and faith doesn't mature without testing. 00:05:14.247 --> 00:05:17.527 Romans five, three and four says, we also glory in our sufferings because 00:05:17.527 --> 00:05:20.997 we know that suffering produces perseverance and perseverance. 00:05:20.997 --> 00:05:23.457 Character and character hope. 00:05:24.882 --> 00:05:27.192 The waiting is your training montage. 00:05:29.052 --> 00:05:31.452 The third thing God does is he redirects your future. 00:05:31.722 --> 00:05:35.622 Sometimes we're waiting for God to change our circumstances, and God's saying, 00:05:35.622 --> 00:05:37.092 I'm actually trying to change you. 00:05:37.692 --> 00:05:40.182 Psalm 27 14 says, wait for the Lord. 00:05:40.182 --> 00:05:42.792 Be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. 00:05:43.362 --> 00:05:44.442 That phrase take heart. 00:05:44.532 --> 00:05:49.002 It literally means let your heart be stout, firm established. 00:05:49.542 --> 00:05:51.822 The waiting isn't about getting what you want, it's about 00:05:51.822 --> 00:05:54.072 becoming what God needs you to be. 00:05:56.322 --> 00:05:57.342 So here's the question. 00:05:58.212 --> 00:05:59.442 How do we actually do this? 00:05:59.772 --> 00:06:02.292 How do we wait with hope instead of despair? 00:06:03.222 --> 00:06:05.472 Romans 1513 gives us the blueprint. 00:06:05.802 --> 00:06:09.942 May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in 00:06:09.942 --> 00:06:14.412 Him so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:06:14.427 --> 00:06:16.617 Now notice a few things here. 00:06:16.677 --> 00:06:19.077 First, hope is a person, not an emotion. 00:06:19.737 --> 00:06:20.217 He's real. 00:06:20.217 --> 00:06:24.507 No matter how we feel, the God of hope, not the feeling of 00:06:24.627 --> 00:06:29.307 hopelessness or hope fullness, our hope isn't grounded in circumstances. 00:06:29.307 --> 00:06:30.987 It's grounded in who God is. 00:06:31.317 --> 00:06:34.587 This is why we light the first advent candle, the prophecy 00:06:34.587 --> 00:06:36.087 candle, the candle of hope. 00:06:36.537 --> 00:06:38.277 Because hope isn't wishful thinking. 00:06:38.277 --> 00:06:42.297 Hope is confident expectation based on God's proven track record. 00:06:43.302 --> 00:06:45.462 The second thing is hope requires trust. 00:06:46.032 --> 00:06:49.542 As you trust in him, you can't manufacture hope through positive 00:06:49.542 --> 00:06:51.042 thinking or manifestation. 00:06:51.252 --> 00:06:55.782 Hope flows from trust, and trust is built through relationship. 00:06:56.562 --> 00:06:59.682 I think about my daughters when they were little and scared of the dark. 00:06:59.682 --> 00:07:01.752 I'd say, daddy's here, you're safe. 00:07:02.622 --> 00:07:04.302 They didn't need to see me. 00:07:04.302 --> 00:07:08.052 They just needed to trust my voice, and that's what God's 00:07:08.052 --> 00:07:10.122 asking in the waiting, I'm here. 00:07:10.602 --> 00:07:11.772 Will you trust my voice? 00:07:13.422 --> 00:07:18.282 Another thing, hope overflows by the spirit's power so that you may overflow 00:07:18.282 --> 00:07:21.402 with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. 00:07:22.662 --> 00:07:25.122 This isn't grit your teeth, white knuckle. 00:07:25.332 --> 00:07:27.102 Fake it till you make it hope. 00:07:27.732 --> 00:07:31.302 This is supernatural spirit empowered against all odds. 00:07:31.482 --> 00:07:31.872 Hope 00:07:34.332 --> 00:07:34.482 so. 00:07:34.482 --> 00:07:35.322 What do we do next? 00:07:35.382 --> 00:07:38.262 Here's some practical steps to keep it simple. 00:07:38.982 --> 00:07:39.312 First. 00:07:39.312 --> 00:07:40.437 Remember, God's faithfulness. 00:07:41.412 --> 00:07:45.642 Journal or write down times that God came through before. 00:07:46.812 --> 00:07:47.622 When you're in the dark. 00:07:47.622 --> 00:07:48.462 Remember the light? 00:07:48.882 --> 00:07:53.082 Psalm 77, 11 says, I'll remember the deeds of the Lord. 00:07:53.082 --> 00:07:56.112 Yes, I'll remember your miracles of long ago. 00:07:57.222 --> 00:07:59.592 Second, stay connected to community. 00:07:59.712 --> 00:08:00.552 Don't isolate. 00:08:01.212 --> 00:08:04.212 Ecclesiastes four verses nine and 10 says two are better than one. 00:08:04.212 --> 00:08:06.642 If one of them falls down, one can help the other up. 00:08:07.452 --> 00:08:11.472 The first advent was spent in community, marry with Elizabeth Shepherds with 00:08:11.472 --> 00:08:15.912 each other, wise men traveling together and finally serve someone else. 00:08:16.602 --> 00:08:21.132 The fastest way out of your own funk is to help someone in theirs. 00:08:21.792 --> 00:08:25.632 Plus, it's hard to have a pity party when you're serving at a soup kitchen. 00:08:25.842 --> 00:08:31.122 Trust me, I've tried nobody there wants to hear my difficulties 00:08:31.122 --> 00:08:33.432 of too many presents to wrap 00:08:35.682 --> 00:08:36.162 Well. 00:08:36.687 --> 00:08:37.827 Here's where this wraps up. 00:08:38.427 --> 00:08:42.627 The beautiful part of the Christmas story we often miss is God didn't 00:08:42.627 --> 00:08:46.587 just send Jesus and then wait in heaven for us to get our act together. 00:08:47.127 --> 00:08:50.277 Emmanuel, God is with us. 00:08:50.787 --> 00:08:54.987 He entered the waiting room with us, and Jesus knows what it's 00:08:54.987 --> 00:08:59.337 like to wait 30 years of obscurity before three years of ministry. 00:08:59.337 --> 00:09:01.017 He knows what it's like to cry out. 00:09:01.317 --> 00:09:03.422 How long, oh Lord, how long? 00:09:10.020 --> 00:09:11.100 And here's the promise. 00:09:11.280 --> 00:09:13.980 He's in the waiting room with you right now. 00:09:14.310 --> 00:09:15.390 You're not waiting alone. 00:09:15.420 --> 00:09:16.560 You are not forgotten. 00:09:16.800 --> 00:09:18.360 You are not abandoned. 00:09:19.380 --> 00:09:23.610 The God of hope is filling you even now with joy and peace as you trust him. 00:09:24.390 --> 00:09:28.470 So this week, as you light that first advent candle, the candle 00:09:28.470 --> 00:09:33.540 of hope, remember the waiting isn't wasted, the darkness isn't 00:09:33.540 --> 00:09:35.345 permanent, and the light is coming. 00:09:36.855 --> 00:09:39.525 Next week, finding peace in the chaos. 00:09:39.585 --> 00:09:41.470 Until then, keep it simple.