Reflections on Ruth: Waiting

I bet many of you have not yet met Tracey McMahan because she is brand new to town.  But once you do get to know her you will love her.  I have had the pleasure of getting to know both her and her sweet mother, Joanie, through the ladies evening Bible Study.  Enjoy the wisdom in one of her reflections on Ruth.....

Driving behind a pokey driver when I’m already late for work. 

Standing in line at the grocery store with two whiny, hungry kids.

Counting down the days before a loved one arrives for a long overdue visit.

Who likes to wait? Waiting can be hard! Especially for the big things in life – test results, a family member stationed overseas, a first baby.

This week I thought about how hard waiting can be as I considered the final verses of Ruth chapter 3 (vv. 10-18). For some time Ruth had been working around Boaz, watching the respect he showed to his field hands, experiencing his kindness toward her. Then at the urging of her mother-in-law, she made her affections known to the man who was her kinsman-redeemer. Boaz responded in kind, yet reminded her that one man, a closer relative, might stand in the way of their marriage plans. So he asked Ruth to wait.

Often our Kinsman-Redeemer asks us to wait as well. To wait for that special someone to come along. To wait for a prodigal child to find his way back home. To wait for Him to answer a desire of our heart.

So how can we respond to our seasons of waiting? We can wait with a worry and a frown or patiently without fretting (Ps. 37:7). We can wait hopelessly or expectantly, trusting Him to answer in His perfect time (Ps. 38:15). We can wait with grumbling and complaints or quietly, relying on His faithfulness (Lam. 3:22-26). The decision is ours, because often we have no choice but to wait.

I admit that I have occasionally wasted  a particular season of waiting instead of using the opportunity to draw nearer to my own Kinsman-Redeemer.  In God’s economy, waiting has a purpose. Perhaps He wants to grow my patience. Perhaps He wants to measure my reliance on Him. Or perhaps, just perhaps He has something to teach me that I wouldn’t learn any other way. Something profound and meaningful and tailor-made just for me. Something I would have missed in my otherwise hurry-up, “happen right now” kind of world.

And so in His strength (and with an occasional reminder to myself), I will be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him. Easier said than done, right?

But so worth the blessing that often accompanies a season of waiting.

“The LORD longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the LORD is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him!” (Isaiah 30:18).