The waiting game

Time seems to travel so slowly when you are waiting.  When you are enjoying yourself, rushing to meet a deadline, or having a holiday it seems that time just flies but how long does a day feel when you are waiting? I don’t like waiting and yet I feel that I have done at least my fair share of it.  I’ve waited for trains (haven’t we all!), I’ve waited at hospitals, I’ve waited to hear about whether I got the job,  and I’ve awaited to purchase something I really, really wanted.     

There is only one type of waiting that I have found to be beneficial.  It is not a static, boring task but an opportunity and a learning experience that actually helps me in my daily life.  It is the time I spend each day as I ‘wait on the Lord’.   

“Wait on the LORD; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the LORD!”                             Psalms 27:14   

People use many different names for prayer but it is the person we are communicating with, not the name or format of the activity that is important.  For me, prayer involves a two-way relationship where I speak to God and He speaks to me.  I don’t hear an audible voice but as I ‘wait’ on Him, He speaks to my heart and mind and fills me with His love, hope and life.  That kind of waiting makes a difference!  That kind of waiting is worth lining up for.  Don’t wait too long till you take the opportunity to wait on Him!

eBay

I know that I am slow and I hate to admit it but yesterday, for the first time, I made a bid for something on e-bay.  It is so interesting to scan through the pages and see what people are prepared to pay, sometimes for the most bizarre items.  The whole system is geared towards making you bid $1.00 higher than anyone else.  You see an ‘antique toast rack’ and 41 people who are prepared to pay $75 and the question arises “Are you willing to pay $76?” Some items sky-rocket in price and some remain a real bargain.  But the whole system is built upon the fact that people will pay something for just about anything.   

What do you have of value?  Can you put a price tag on everything you own?  What about your time…Do you have an hourly rate in mind? What about your opportunities, your freedom or your life as a whole?  What would you be worth if you put yourself up for auction on e-bay? How many people would bid?  Would you be a treasured jewel or an item on the throw out table?  Unfortunately many of us fail to see our real value. Your real value is based on what someone is prepared to pay to possess you.  “For you were bought at a price” 1 Cor 6:20  The price that Jesus was prepared to pay was everything He owned, everything He commanded and everything He would ever be.  

That is what He paid for you – and that makes you incredibly valuable!