This verse gave me a good reminder when I read it… To specify, the reminder was around the phrase “eagerly wait”. We are told that we are supposed to be eagerly waiting to receive righteousness.
So first of all, how often do you remember ‘eagerly waiting’ for something? On a day-to-day basis, most of the waiting I do would not be done ‘eagerly’. A more appropriate term would be ‘annoyingly waiting’, or maybe ‘resignedly waiting’.
Of course, most of my waiting is done in traffic, or at a customer service counter, or a dentist…. ‘eager’ would not be the right term for that! But there are things that qualify, such as ‘eagerly waiting’ for a date with my wife, or for the chance to spend time with my children after work. I am eager for these things!
Okay, back to the text – we are to eagerly wait (like we are waiting for the apple pie to come out of the oven) for righteousness that has been promised to us by God. We do this through exercising our faith in His promises, and we can have faith because we know that God’s promises never fail.
Eagerly waiting for God to fulfill a promise is something easy to have faith in, because He does not make promises lightly; nor does He ever walk away from them – or us. This is a good reminder for me, that my faith is never misplaced if it’s placed in the hands of the Holy One.
For when we place our faith in Christ Jesus, there is no benefit in being circumcised or being uncircumcised. What is important is faith expressing itself in love. (Galatians 5:6)
Our faith is what gives us a boldness with our love – we can be bold with our love, showing the world that our promises are being fulfilled by the sure hands of our merciful Father. So be bold, show love, and approach the Throne of the only One who saves!
Let us therefore come boldly to the Throne of Grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need. (Hebrews 4:16)
#LoveMatters