We live in a noisy, restless day when no one wants to wait on anything. The symbol of our day could be a picture of a person running up an escalator -- too busy to wait for the escalator to reach the top. Or the symbol could be the cartoon which showed an American couple dashing up the steps of the Louvre in Paris. As they approached the guard at the door, they were shouting, "Quick! Where's the Mona Lisa? We're double-parked."1

We hate to wait -- elevators that stop at every floor tax our patience. "Cars waiting for the light to change to green poise like rockets on the launching pad. Jets fly the Atlantic so quickly that it's possible to get mugged in London and New York on the same day."2

Whatever else can be said about our day, we are in a rush. We do not like to wait. Waiting runs counter to the spirit of our day. It runs counter to the spirit of our lives. And yet ....

I. Waiting Is a Necessary Part of Life.

It always has been. Early in Jesus' experience, His life crossed the path of one who had been waiting for a long time. In fact, Jesus was just forty days old when it happened. His parents had carried Him to the temple in Jerusalem to present a sacrifice to God for Him.

As they entered the temple courtyard, they met Simeon. Luke 2:25 records that "Simeon ... was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel."

The "consolation of Israel" was a reference to the coming of the Messiah. This old man had spent all of his years waiting. He had prayed a thousand prayers to God to send the Messiah. He had had a thousand false hopes. Life was now winding down for him. You could sum his life up in the word "waiting."

Then, at the end of Jesus' life it happened again. Chapter 23 of Luke tells the story. Verse 51 records that Joseph "was of Arimathea, a city of the Jews: who also himself waited for the kingdom of God."

All of Joseph's life had been spent waiting for the Messiah to come to establish the kingdom. This had been his hope and dream. He had waited and waited.

Anytime you dare to dream a big dream, you are setting yourself up to do some waiting. If you never have to wait, if all of your plans can be completed by sundown, you are not planning enough. Your dreams are too small.

The size of your dreams measures the greatness of your soul. What do your dreams say about the size of your soul?

Simeon and Joseph chose to dream dreams of the kingdom. They longed to be part of God's enterprise in this world.

That's what you need to do. Be part of something big. Invest your life in the kingdom of God. You won't finish the job by this afternoon. You will do a lot of waiting. But you will have a sure conviction that you are participating in something big and of lasting importance.

What's important to you? What are you waiting on? Got any prayers you have been offering to God that have not been answered yet?