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Definition of WAIT...
transitive verb
1 : to stay in place in expectation of : await <waited the result of the advertisement – W. M. Thackeray><wait your turn>
2: to delay serving (a meal)
3: to serve as waiter for <wait tables>
intransitive verb
1a: to remain stationary in readiness or expectation <wait for a train>
b: to pause for another to catch up -usually used with up
2a: to look forward expectantly <just waiting to see his rival lose>
b: to hold back expectantly <waiting for a chance to strike>
3: to serve at meals -usually used in such phrases as wait on tables or wait on table
4a: to be ready and available <slippers waiting by the bed>
b: to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized <the chores canwait>
- wait on also wait upon
1a: to attend as a servant
b: to supply the wants of : serve
2: to make a formal call on
3: to wait for
- wait up
: to delay going to bed : stay up1
As you can see from the definition, wait is a very versatile little verb. Depending on how it is modified by prepositions it can mean a number of different things, some of them almost contradictory of others. This definition is also helpful in that it gives examples of each usage. At the center of Pastor Steve’s lesson on Sunday was this verse:
“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”(Luke 5:16)
Steve talked about how exciting it is to read what Jesus did during His earthly ministry. But the far more instructive thing is to glean from how He did it. You see, Jesus lived His life as an example, or if you will, a template of how we are to live ours. Most people assume that because Jesus is God, the life He lived is unattainable for us. In one sense that is true. He lived without sin. See, we were born under the Fall; we have sin built in.
But in another more important sense, He called us to live His life and equipped us so to do (sounds weird, but is grammatically correct). Jesus existed on earth, and for that matter still exists in a state called hypostatic union.2 That is, He is, at the same time, fully God and fully man. If you are interested in this concept, there is a brief article referenced here. But the gist of what I mean is that Jesus lived His life on earth not like a Greek demigod, but as a Holy Spirit-filled man. The same resources available to Him, by which he conducted His ministry and performed His miracles, are available to us. If you look at His life and compare His actions to this list of spiritual gifts listed in I Corinthians 13, you will see each of them in action.
Radical idea, right? Then why aren’t we roaming the countryside, healing the sick, raising the dead, reading other people’s mental e-mail? The answer is simple. Wait! Wait! Don’t tell me! That’s right. Wait. We don’t know how to wait. Jesus said:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19)
Jesus’ ministry was effective because it was a fulfillment of His Father’s will. He waited on God. Again, what exactly does that mean? Look back at the definition of wait at the beginning of this piece. Waiting on God is all the things that this definition says:
It is to be still in expectation. It is to delay action until prompted. It is to act as a waiter, bring only what is called for. It is to remain stationary in readiness or expectation. It is to look forward expectantly. It is to hold back expectantly. It is to be ready and available. It is to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized until the Master’s perfect time. It is to attend as a servant. It is to supply the wants of the Creator of the universe, and not our own. It is to make a formal call on the Father of All Lights. It is to wait on, wait up, wait by, and wait behind. It is to be ready, to be responsive, to be patient, to be the ten thousand things a faith servant is.
In my early years as a Christian I heard the song linked below. It so touched my heart that I bought the sheet music and memorized it. I asked to sing it as a solo in a church service. My request was granted. My brother told me I sounded like a cross between Perry Como and Kermit the Frog. I never sang another solo. I hadn’t thought about it for years, until this week. But the song still has the power to bring me to tears. The reality of my own imperfect waiting is still driven home as it was thirty-five years ago. It points out that if we want to be His servants, to be used mightily, we have to learn to wait.
transitive verb
1 : to stay in place in expectation of : await <waited the result of the advertisement – W. M. Thackeray><wait your turn>
2: to delay serving (a meal)
3: to serve as waiter for <wait tables>
intransitive verb
1a: to remain stationary in readiness or expectation <wait for a train>
b: to pause for another to catch up -usually used with up
2a: to look forward expectantly <just waiting to see his rival lose>
b: to hold back expectantly <waiting for a chance to strike>
3: to serve at meals -usually used in such phrases as wait on tables or wait on table
4a: to be ready and available <slippers waiting by the bed>
b: to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized <the chores canwait>
- wait on also wait upon
1a: to attend as a servant
b: to supply the wants of : serve
2: to make a formal call on
3: to wait for
- wait up
: to delay going to bed : stay up1
As you can see from the definition, wait is a very versatile little verb. Depending on how it is modified by prepositions it can mean a number of different things, some of them almost contradictory of others. This definition is also helpful in that it gives examples of each usage. At the center of Pastor Steve’s lesson on Sunday was this verse:
“So He Himself often withdrew into the wilderness and prayed.”(Luke 5:16)
Steve talked about how exciting it is to read what Jesus did during His earthly ministry. But the far more instructive thing is to glean from how He did it. You see, Jesus lived His life as an example, or if you will, a template of how we are to live ours. Most people assume that because Jesus is God, the life He lived is unattainable for us. In one sense that is true. He lived without sin. See, we were born under the Fall; we have sin built in.
But in another more important sense, He called us to live His life and equipped us so to do (sounds weird, but is grammatically correct). Jesus existed on earth, and for that matter still exists in a state called hypostatic union.2 That is, He is, at the same time, fully God and fully man. If you are interested in this concept, there is a brief article referenced here. But the gist of what I mean is that Jesus lived His life on earth not like a Greek demigod, but as a Holy Spirit-filled man. The same resources available to Him, by which he conducted His ministry and performed His miracles, are available to us. If you look at His life and compare His actions to this list of spiritual gifts listed in I Corinthians 13, you will see each of them in action.
Radical idea, right? Then why aren’t we roaming the countryside, healing the sick, raising the dead, reading other people’s mental e-mail? The answer is simple. Wait! Wait! Don’t tell me! That’s right. Wait. We don’t know how to wait. Jesus said:
“Most assuredly, I say to you, the Son can do nothing of Himself, but what He sees the Father do; for whatever He does, the Son also does in like manner.” (John 5:19)
Jesus’ ministry was effective because it was a fulfillment of His Father’s will. He waited on God. Again, what exactly does that mean? Look back at the definition of wait at the beginning of this piece. Waiting on God is all the things that this definition says:
It is to be still in expectation. It is to delay action until prompted. It is to act as a waiter, bring only what is called for. It is to remain stationary in readiness or expectation. It is to look forward expectantly. It is to hold back expectantly. It is to be ready and available. It is to remain temporarily neglected or unrealized until the Master’s perfect time. It is to attend as a servant. It is to supply the wants of the Creator of the universe, and not our own. It is to make a formal call on the Father of All Lights. It is to wait on, wait up, wait by, and wait behind. It is to be ready, to be responsive, to be patient, to be the ten thousand things a faith servant is.
In my early years as a Christian I heard the song linked below. It so touched my heart that I bought the sheet music and memorized it. I asked to sing it as a solo in a church service. My request was granted. My brother told me I sounded like a cross between Perry Como and Kermit the Frog. I never sang another solo. I hadn’t thought about it for years, until this week. But the song still has the power to bring me to tears. The reality of my own imperfect waiting is still driven home as it was thirty-five years ago. It points out that if we want to be His servants, to be used mightily, we have to learn to wait.