Very Long Lines


This morning Kim got out of the house early to try to find gasoline for our van. (We have been concerned as to whether or not we will have enough gas to get Nathaniel back to college on Saturday as well as have enough gas to get to church on Sunday.)  After Kim waited for an hour and a half, I came along with some breakfast and switched with her. Thankfully, for me there was only about another half an hour of the wait left—but only for super at $4.50 per gallon with a $30 limit, and only cash!  But, we at least got that much. 

I think the last thing anyone expected with the onset of “Sandy” would be the long line of cars at the gas stations throughout the region.  Although, many of us thought to fill-up our tanks before the storm hit, who would have thought that four days later we would have gasoline being rationed?  Who would have expected to be waiting on lines for two hours or more for a few gallons of gas? But, wait we do—on some very long lines.

And, why do we wait?  We wait because we need that which we are waiting for. We wait for that which we consider to be necessary and valuable to our well-being.  Yes, we would like to get our gasoline much more quickly, but we wait because have become dependent upon gasoline to power our cars and our generators. 

The Bible often speaks about waiting—especially waiting “for the Lord.”  The Psalmist wrote, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130:5,6 – NIV)  The Bible speaks of being patient and hopeful as we wait for God to step into our lives to help us, deliver us, and fulfill his promises to us. 

The Psalmist reminds us that although it might feel as if we are on a very long line, if we will wait patiently, we will experience God at work within our lives. And, why would we wait?  Because we understand how desperately we really do need his presence and his power; he grace and his mercy at work within our lives. 

So, today as you wait on line for gas, or maybe on a grocery line or on line for the bus (etc., etc.), let it be a time during which you are also waiting “for the Lord.”  He is with you and he will help you as you wait for him.

Have a great day!

Pastor Tim Harris




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