5-22-2023

 Good Morning All,

    Isaiah 40:31; “but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”

   Have you ever watched the movie “Forrest Gump”?  I really like it because it is a movie that you can watch over and over and find new nuances or story lines.  There are some really good lines to quote from this movie.  “Life is like a box of chocolates” “Mamma said stupid is as stupid does!” “Sometimes I guess there just aren’t enough rocks” “I am not a smart man, but I know what love is” These come in handy once in a while.

    One of the side stories of the movie that intrigues me is how Forrest waits the entire movie with his love for Jenny.  Jenny starts out as the young schoolgirl who befriends Forrest, and they grow up together.  She eventually grows away from him (she thinks), but he never does and writes her letters every day when he is in Vietnam.  Through her whole life, when Jenny has to make a choice; she usually takes the wrong one.  Her life is tough.  It is a struggle every step of the way, never answering Forrest’s letters but his love continues.  He waits for her until she comes home for a while.  She sleeps like she hasn’t slept for years.  They eventually get married, but she dies shortly afterwards from some new disease. (Unstated but AIDS is implied) So Forrest is waiting again, with their son.

    I don’t know if I could wait like that.  Waiting can be hard for us.  We wait for the job we want.  We wait for the spouse we need.  We wait years for a child to be born.  Sometimes we wait for a prayer to be answered and then it is not what we hoped for.  Sometimes we find ourselves waiting for a loved one who has left us and will not return.  Sometimes we wait and it feels like time stops.  Yet God tells us to wait.

    To wait on the Lord means to know that God is doing something for us that is wonderful.  He is doing something so wonderful that, even when we know it, we don’t really understand it.  God’s grace is alive restoring us to his family.  God is preparing us for heaven and is preparing a place in heaven for us.  When we “wait for the Lord” when we are expectant; anticipating God’s wondrous mercy and as we trust in that mercy.  As we trust in the Lord we are renewed; we can run like we are not weary.  Think of all the restored joy and energy which God gives to us which we pass by because we are waiting for something different and yet God has the precious gift waiting for us; life eternal with him.  We will live in what the Bible describes as a wedding feast.  This is a time of eternal gladness.  Wait for the Lord; it is going to be great!!

Dearest loving Father, your mercy is new to us every day.  Teach us to wait; teach us to wait as you do the wondrous events and actions in our life.  Be with us and guide us.  Protect us and give to us the energy to run and never tire in our service to you.  In Jesus’ precious name we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret