Jesus is Worth Waiting For - Psalm 13:1-6

Psalm 13:1-6 Jesus is worth waiting for INTRO Now, I’ve likely said it before, but it bears repeating. I love the Psalms. I find them so helpful. I always have a book mark in it and I begin my time in God’s Word each day by starting with a Psalm. Usually reading 1 or 2 of them before moving on to another portion of scripture. And I simply make laps through the book of Psalms. When I finish the last chapter, chapter 150…I move the book mark to Psalm 1….to go through it again from start to finish and every time, each day…I am ministered to by God through them in a manner that carries through and readies my heart and mind to hear from God in the other portions of scripture I spend time seeking Him in. The book as a whole was put together and arranged for—this—purpose. Saints of old, through inspiration of the Holy Spirit, took these 150 collections of songs and poems and thoughtfully, with the Holy Spirit’s guidance, thoughtfully arranged them in a specific order for helpful instruction for the Christian, for you and for me, through the ages to pray and meditate on. For instance,…The whole book of Psalms…is Lament heavy in the beginning over Praise……but then shifts,…as you course through the 150 chapters,….it shifts to have greater praise Psalms over lament Psalms…all the way through to the end. Like a vintage weight balancing scale….(illustrate with hands) Lament heavy in the beginning and the a steady change takes place where it becomes Praise heavy in the end. And as you course through the books,. you will regularly discover mingled through the chapters in varying degrees,.. some balancing tension existing between either the Torah and the Messiah, Lament and Praise, or Faith and Hope. One of those three,. …..Dispersed throughout it will be this returning tension this tug and pull between… Torah - Messiah, Lament - Praise, or Faith - Hope…sort of like a static line. You ever seen one of those? For you to be able to stand with balance on the strap and move from one end to the other….there needs to be proper tension. The Psalms are arranged with this tension that directs our gaze forward. For…“Biblical faith is forward looking” as Tim Mackey rightly states. When you encounter the Torah in the Psalms…on the other end of the strap is the Messiah. The Torah points towards the Messiah, who we, with Biblical faith are to looking forward to. When we lament and are burdened and sorrowful over sin…over the condition of the world…as we should be…the tension existing there…is brought about by the pulling on the other end of the strap…and that is that we have reason to praise,…as we look ahead to what Christ has done..what He has accomplished…what we have in Him that is secure in the heavens. That God will make all things right. Though we Lament we have cause for Praise. Right now we see through the eyes of faith “but faith is the substance of things hoped for”, there’s the tension pull….we have a Hope…it’s what we are saved to…we are saved to a Hope that cannot be taken away. We see dimly through the eyes of Faith looking forward to the Rock Solid Everlasting Hope we have waiting for us in Christ Jesus our Lord. Are you track’n with me in regards to this tug and pull this tension existing in the Psalms between these 3 sets of pairs? You will encounter the tension between these pairs as you study through the Psalms. The book of Psalms works that dance into our soul…and therefore, I encourage you, if you haven’t already, I encourage you to make it a regular part of your reading. Not the central focus, but a regular part of your seeking to know your creator Father in Heaven in His Word. And so for me, I really appreciate how we as a church are coursing through this book. Start to Finish, Preaching through each individual chapter and taking all 150 chapters in portions of ten. Spending 10 weeks for 10 chapters between other books of the Bible preached through. Recently we finished Ephesians and quickly approaching is Genesis and then Revelations. So Following Ephesians, ….before we launch off into Genesis we have this sweet opportunity to be ministered to from God’s Word through 10 weeks in the Psalms. Today, our 3rd week and therefore, a couple strides into our second stent in PSALMS, we find ourselves in the 13th chapter. Let’s read through this in it’s entirety to listen and hear for the tension that exists. - (read whole of Psalm 13) Let me hear it. Which pair did you hear? YEAH….Lament and Praise. Very good…this will be helpful. NOW, with that in mind, what is the underlying truth this Psalm is providing for us as helpful instruction? For starters, how many times does he cry out to God “How long, O’ Lord, How Long!?”….4x MY FAMILY recently took a road trip to Bozeman Montana and back. Any guesses how many times Grace or Matthew asked, “How much longer? How much longer till we get there?” Like the Psalmist, they were in a place of waiting. Waiting….this sparked a distant memory of mine far back when I was probably the age of Silas and Joseph or Jane and Avriel…how old are you guys? WELL….It happened on an afternoon hunting outing with my dad. My older brother Josh and I, at a place not far from our home in Keno, walked through the woods with our dad hunting for deer. No encounters happened to my recollection and we (Josh and I) were reaching the point of….being——done… mentally and physically spent as youths. So, we returned to the truck…it was at early dusk, (which, mind you, is prime hunting hours) and our father safely placed us in the truck and said that he was going to do one more short hunt around this nearby knoll expecting the deer to be out and about during these prime final minutes of daylight. IT wasn’t going to be long he said…and when it got dark, he instructed us to honk the horn a couple of times to help him easily fix his bearing on his return….(Yeah….you can see where this is going). WELL, Josh and I had a carefree time in the truck for a fair while as the sun was setting….and then the sun was set and darkness of night began encroaching upon us. Now, we weren’t jumping the gun….cause, it’s not dark yet…we are do’n fine…not afraid of a little o’l darkness happening…un-uh. We held out fairly well for a time….but then it reached a point where we both agreed….Yeah, it’s dark…Let’s give the horn a honk. (Honk..honk!). We waited a little bit. Looked around, no flashlight seen yet. Hmmph. Let’s give it another honk. (Honk….honk!)…………..Still nothing…….(HONK! HONK!) ….Nothing still. Oh Boy…this isn’t good. (HOOONK! HOOONK!). Our hearts trembling now, minds racing with what if’s….we start looking at our supply of food and water,…considering how we are going to ration it between us. Now bear in mind. Bear in mind…Maybe 5-10 minutes have passed since our first honk….but to a 9yr old….that’s forever! AT THIS POINT….we are laying on the horn with tears flowing….It’s like — “We’re gonna to die!…We’re gonna to die!” What a sight…right? My poor dad, terrified by what ‘may’ be happening, quickly abandons his stalk on a young buck…no joke…he comes racing back,… out of breath to save us of our grief…and the truck battery from being depleted of voltage. He returned…all was restored. NOW, I share that story as an example of how we can be when we are waiting on something or someone. And this PSALM that has a Lament-Praise tension activity happening instructs us of a valuable truth in regards to waiting. Waiting. It takes all different shapes does it not? Waiting for the diagnosis from the doctor,….waiting for full recovery from an affliction suffered…waiting for news to come of the welfare of family or the outcome of a decision involving you - that of a scholarship or job position applied for perhaps.…even just arriving at a decision you are rightly leaning upon the Lord for wisdom and discernment in making. “When am I going to know what that is Lord?… “When will I have clarity and peace about which path to take?” “When Lord?!” Maybe you are waiting to be delivered from a specific sin that has a strong hold on you,…like you feel like you cannot be rid of it…not set free. You’re doing the right things in seeking God to deliver you, and it still has a firm grip…. Maybe it’s closeness with God, seeking Him for an outpouring of His Spirit into your heart that produces great assurance and power in your life.… the very thing HE says in His Word to ask Him for and you are seeking Him for it, trusting in His promise to provide it….but it has not yet been given…you are still waiting for it….. Anyone here waiting for your children to soften to the gospel and to respond with love and joyful surrender to Jesus Christ. How long O’ God, How long till this will be abundantly evident in their lives? Anyone crying out to God from their heart that prayer? What is it that you are waiting for? There may be multiple things. WAITING….We know that God is sovereign and therefore controls all, thus it’s accurate to say that ALL our waiting is ultimately upon the Lord. Is it not? “He turns the hearts of Kings like a stream of water wherever He wills.” (Proverbs 21:1), HE puts into the mind of men and women what He will. He is sovereign. We can ask and receive from God but we can’t take. All creation awaits His command and is held together by him. Though our waiting may certainly and often does involve others….the results of a test, coming to a decision…the outcome of a job application and so forth….the waiting is ultimately on GOD. And the waiting that trumps all waiting is awaiting the return of Christ.. the Lamb of God. Once he returns there will be no more waiting…waiting ceases at that point. “We will know even as we are known.” (1 Corinthians 13:12) We won’t see dimly anymore as through a mirror but clearly…face to face. But till then….we wait on Him who is worth waiting for. Jesus Christ our conquering risen King. That is the underlying truth - Jesus is Worth Waiting for. Whether that be his ultimate return…OR,… His provision for whatever it is before you that you are looking to Him and waiting upon Him for. Jesus is Worth Waiting for. The scriptures abound with precious promises in store for those who wait upon the Lord. ALLOW me to provide us with one of them…(Isaiah 40:28-31) “Have you not known? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He does not faint or grow weary; his understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the faint, and to him who has no might he increases strength. Even youths shall faint and be weary, and young men shall fall exhausted; 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.” Stand firm and hold this promise close to your heart. Jesus is Worth Waiting for. And with this truth before us, we now look to (Psalm 13) to receive instruction in regards to waiting. There are 3 points of instruction involved in the waiting which we have opportunity to receive from God’s Word this morning to put into practice. The first is the honest reality that it’s…difficult. Waiting is difficult. For What is being asked of us when waiting? Beee —- patient. In the wait we are learning patience. Patience is what is being asked of us. “Patience is a ——- virtue” - YES, I know that saying!….But would you stop saying it!….it’s trying my patience. Waiting is difficult. And it is right to recognize that in the waiting, there is pain in learning patience. Our first point. BODY 1) FIRST POINT - (Psalms 13:1-2). Pain in learning patience Point 1 Pain in Learning Patience There are 3 aspects of this painful waiting highlighted for us in (verses 1-2). The first and most primary is not feeling God’s presence. A brief flash back to the opening illustration with my dad and brother. Countless times, my brothers and I walked through thick darkness with our dad…having not a clue where we were and being —— totally fine with that. The cool visuals of a flashlight in the darkness of night and thoughts of being back at camp enjoying a soda with dinner…that’s what occupied my interests. No concern about the darkness because,……I was with my dad. Take my dad out of the equation…I am in a bad place quickly. WELL, similarly, for a christian to not feel the presence of God they too are feeling the troubling effects of it. Keep in mind here….in (Psalm 13). This is not involving one who is unrepentant in sin. In which God would indeed feel far away. Only conviction of sin leading to repentance will welcome you back into fellowship with your God…..when this is the case. Only true repentance is the remedy to usher you back into His presence. This is not the tone here. This child of God…which happens to be, David who wrote this Psalm….does not show any indication that his sin is the issue. And yet clearly…God feels very distant to him. “How long, O’Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Listen up…..A christian experiencing this is not abnormal, rather very normal dare I say common to experience this from time to time in their christian life. JESUS was in this space. Do the Words “My God my God why have you forsaken me?!” Ring a bell? (Matthew 27:46, Mark 15:34). Words cried out to the Father…by JESUS…as he was dying on the cross. So being in such a place is not abnormal for a christian and it is painful to be there. “How long, O’Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” There are two aspects about this undesirable place given attention to in these opening 2 verses….that involve the christian’s activity while in this state. They are solitude and sorrow “How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” This is followed closely behind by the wonder of when will things will be made right. “How long shall my enemy be exulted over me?” All this, experienced through the Pain in learning Patience. I believe at this point it will be helpful to identify with an Old Testament brother in Christ to draw practical illustrations from….that we may then apply to ourselves. From (Genesis chapters 40 & 41) A snippet in the life of Joseph comes to mind to do so. JOSEPH, who was a meek man and tried by God through patience. (Psalm 105:16-19) These two chapters find Joseph in prison where he is used by God to interpret dreams…the opportunity which comes to him to do so is with two of his fellow inmates. One a cupbearer for Pharaoh and the other is Pharaoh’s baker. You recall the story…., He exercises his God given gift in a manner that glorifies God…JOSEPH carefully gives all glory to God in providing the interpretation to these dreams…the meek man God was shaping him to be….and on the heals of him miraculously providing the interpretations……JOSEPH humbly asks to be remembered….not even by name,….but that he was a Hebrew wrongly placed in prison. Respectfully made known his innocence. Please note….He was not a stranger to these men. JOSEPH was entrusted by the prisoner guard with oversight responsibilities of the prison. Time has lapsed in which Joseph demonstrated his steadfastness and faithfulness to that which was before him. He had a reputation, same as he did in Potiphar’s household. A good reputation and now he blesses the cup bearer by interpreting his dream which brought great hope not doubt to the cup bearer even before it came to pass and JOSEPH simply asks him to remember him when he is restored to his office as the cup bearer for Pharaoh,….one who is regularly in the presence of Pharaoh and therefore to a degree has a platform to speak into Pharaoh’s ear. Reasonable request wouldn’t you say? One that JOSEPH, I believe was waiting on the Lord to act on. NOW consider,….Clearly the Lord was working in his life,…he - JOSEPH - was able to use his God given gift in a way that brought glory to God….surely God is at work in delivering Joseph from prison. I picture every time the prison door opened,… JOSEPH’S head lifted with hope in his heart,… “Is this the day Pharaoh will release me?” Heart pounding with anticipation, with hopeful excitement….freedom!…I can taste it! “Finally, my innocence is vindicated.” “I don’t deserve to be in prison. I was falsely accused and sentence though not guilty. Truth prevails! God has delivered me! He has heard my cries! Praise be to God!”..………The door opens…nothing out of the ordinary takes place. Things are as they have been for so long…13 years to be precise. No deliverance this day. But maybe it will be tomorrow or next week. “I mean, I get it… Let the cupbearer get a footing in his returned role. Let him reestablish the trust and relationship he is able to have with Pharaoh as his cupbearer. So, yeah, I get it…patience Joseph, (him talking to himself) patience Joseph, be patient…it will come… Give it some time.” A week passes, then a few weeks and now a month…2 months…still nothing. At what point,…do you think Joseph stopped lifting his head with hopeful anticipation? After 6 months…(half a year). Well hold on, this is JOSEPH we are talking about. He is a Biblical stud amongst the patriarchs. He could totally handle 6 months of waiting. In fact, JOSEPH could wait a solid year and not lose hope that God had not forgotten him, that God will bring him deliverance. A year passes……still…..nothing. How long was it, before God did finally bring deliverance for Joseph? 2 years. (Genesis 41:1) 2 years from the time he exercised his God given gift in a manner that glorified God. 2 years passed before GOD did finally deliver Joseph. NOW,……though scripture does not provide this detail, I am of the opinion that there was a day, before 2 years was reached, where Joseph’s head ceased lifting up at the sound of the prison door opening. I am not saying he lost hope but I do believe he reached a point where the pain in learning patience was so great, the silence so deafening, that he stopped—looking—up. It just was no longer in him to do so anymore. “How long, O’Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” Were cries,…I believe,…rising from his heart even when no strength was found to put them into words. Solitude and sorrow were familiar companions in the dark prison cell….“How long must I take counsel in my soul and have sorrow in my heart all the day?” The faces of his false accusers, those who sought him harm though he was innocent of any wrong done …. were perhaps tormenting his minds eye.…laughing at him, mocking him. “How long O’ Lord shall my enemy be exulted over me?”…. “me, here in prison and they, false accusers, my enemy…still free, exulted over me!” This is what I picture of Joseph during this place and time. Why is that? He was a man like David who wrote this Psalm, like any one of us who reach that place of agonizing pain in learning the patience being asked of us. How long, How long, How long Oh Lord. I am in agony here, Lord. How…long?! So, ————Have you entered into this space with me? Are you in the prison cell with Joseph who is no longer lifting his head. Hope in his heart is just a flickering light. Do those words penned by David… “How long, how long O’Lord”. Do you identify with those words as one who has been in similar waters….who, perhaps are in-them-now. Okay, being in this space….Now What? What can bring us help in such a despairing place? We agree that it is helpful first to acknowledge this,…That there is pain in learning patience and we all can relate to this….we share in seasons of this. It does you no good to pretend you don’t….So, we acknowledge this reality….but…but…we are not to be paralyzed by it. Let it be what it is and direct your heart to what would be helpful to you in the pain. And that is prayer. For there is helpfulness in knowing God hears. Which is our 2 point of instruction in regards to Jesus being worth waiting for. The helpfulness in knowing God hears 2) SECOND POINT (Psalm 13:3-4) - Helpfulness in knowing God hears First off….It’s important to make a distinction here,…for we are talking about prayer but the point of focus is the help which comes from knowing God hears your prayer. For God hears all. The lightest touch of an ant crawling across the ground is audible to the ears of God. We are not talking about God’s ability to hear…we are talking about God hearing in a manner that reaches his heart…and therefore is helpful to us,..His children,…when we know this to be so. So, how can we know this to be the case and thereby,….be helped along when we are in the pains of waiting? It really stems from our Posture in Prayer. “God’s eyes see and His eyelids test the children of man.” Do you remember that verse from a couple weeks back? (Psalm 11) God knows the difference between “Rub-a-dub-dub…thanks for the grub.”…sort of prayers and those likened to this Psalm here. NOW, as we read through (verses 3-4) from which we draw this 2nd point….listen to the essence of words being lifted up to God with confidence that they are being heard? - read I believe great help comes to God’s children in knowing that He hears our prayers. And we can be confident through faith in Christ that when we approach our Father with such posture - Non presumptuous, humble posture of one poor and needy pleading for God to come to their rescue… “Consider and answer me, O’Lord my God; light up my eyes, lest I sleep the sleep of death,” ..…Not appealing to God for their own name but for His namesake. “lest my enemy say, “I have prevailed over him,” lest my foes rejoice because I am shaken.” For the child of God, like David here who in (Psalm 139:20-22) writes “Your enemies take Your name in vain. Do I not hate them, O LORD, who hate You? And do I not loathe those who rise up against You? I hate them with perfect hatred; I count them my - enemies.” A child of God , the christian, with right posture before their God, is chiefly concerned about the glory of God’s name and therefore appeals for the sake of His name to not let our shared enemies triumph over us —- LISTEN, Whether that be through them being cut off and put to shame….OR,….like ourselves who were once enemies of God,….having them, same as us…come to saving faith in Jesus Christ… having God save them, same as He did us….redeeming them to become children of God through the gospel….on the merits of Jesus Christ through faith. When our approach to God in prayer bears such posture we will be helped in knowing that such prayer is heard by God in a manner that touches His heart. This is helpful to know when it feels like He is absent and has forsaken you. Why do I believe this to be so? Scripture provides us the assurance that it does. (Psalm 34:17-20). “When the righteous cry for help, the LORD hears and delivers them out of all their troubles. The LORD is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit. Many are the afflictions of the righteous, but the LORD delivers him out of them all. He keeps all his bones; not one of them is broken.” (Psalm 51:17) “The sacrifices of God are a broken spirit, A broken and a contrite heart—These, O God, You will not despise.” (Isaiah 57:15, 66:2). Through the prophet Isaiah, God says this - “For thus says the High and Lofty One Who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: That’d be God…who then makes clear - “I dwell in the high and holy place,…and also … you hear that…and also with him who has a contrite and humble spirit, To revive the spirit of the humble, And to revive the heart of the contrite ones. ….and furthermore…..“….on this one will I look: Says the great God of heaven and earth - I will look on him who is poor and of a contrite spirit, And who trembles at My word.” How glorious is this. Scripture abounds with promise that brokenness, honest outpouring of heart before God with humility and chief concern God’s glory is a posture of prayer —— that will reach the depths of God’s heart when he hears it. And OH, what help it is to know this for those who wait upon Him who is worth waiting for. If my earthly dad, who is a sinner like I, hurriedly came to the cries of his two sons, wailing and leaning on the horn, how much more will our heavenly Father hasten to our cries to Him when coming from a contrite and humble posture. Dear Saint, He will not delay deliverance any measure beyond what He determines ne-ce-ssary as for our benefit in learning the virtue of patience in the waiting. The Word of God we tremble at promises so. In the agony of waiting upon the Lord, suffering the pain in learning patience….There is Helpfulness in knowing God Hears. In doing so, tension is then applied to move away from Lament…we are balancing on this static line again…move away from Lament…and on towards Praise. We started with Lament and we end with Praise. Why so? Because there is power in giving praise…whatever the season. There is Power in giving Praise - our 3rd and final point. Seen in (verses 5-6) 3) THIRD POINT (Psalm 13:5-6) - Power in giving praise Power in giving Praise. See if you can pick up - the helping verbs and main verbs in the passage that are the key to the praise being given. Read (verses 5-6). I have trusted, my, heart shall rejoice, I will sing, (there is that Biblical faith looking forward) because He has dealt bountifully with me. (A child of God, Bolstered by past faithfulness of God can therefore draw hope to see the bounty we have in Him in the present and in the fulfillment of the promises that await us) Let’s go back to Joseph in prison. Do you think his thoughts at some point went back to when his brothers threw him into the pit? Left him there as good as dead. Is it a likelihood that Joseph took counsel in himself of God’s past faithfulness? Thinking…. “God was merciful to me then,….Even as a 17y/o punk….He showed Himself faithful…and God hasn’t changed….He is still the same faithful God who rescued me then and who hears my cry to Him now.” Do you think his thoughts pondered there? And not just once.…but time and time again, JOSEPH bolstering strength of heart from God’s past faithfulness to draw hope for in the present. JOSHEP…who went from a pit to the head of Potiphar’s house… A place of despair to a place of prestige and honor. And now though innocent, falsely accused, once again in a place one could despair…a prison cell for years on end. “God knows my innocence…I trust Him.” (JOSEPH counseling himself in this….that He knows and trusts in God’s steadfast love.” You and I, brother and sister in Christ, we can look back and recall God’s Faithfulness, His Steadfast love shown to us in our lives. It musters hope for the present. And Saint,…You look far enough back….where are you going to land? The day you first believed. JESUS uses the same reasoning… “You have abandoned the love you had at first” (Revelations 2:4) JESUS speaking these words in rebuke to the church in Ephesus. But imbedded in that is that first love. When we first believed in the gospel. That 1st time your eyes where opened to the glories of Christ. The blinds were lifted and you saw the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Oh happy day that was….your sins washed away,…living water sprung within and out of your soul. You look far enough back and You remember, I BELIEVED…I once did not but now I do and still do. I Believe in the gospel of Jesus Christ. That He Jesus came from the Father, laid down His life as a ransom for me, paying the full measure of God’s wrath against me for my sin. I Believe that He rose again on the 3rd day just as He said He would….We celebrate this fact today Christian… Easter Sunday…Resurrection Sunday. I believe that He ascended to Father and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. I Believe that through faith in Him I can be forgiven and am able to stand blameless now before my Holy Father in Heaven, adopted into His family…belonging to Him…I am saved..this one thing I am sure…this continually helps you in the present…… that you are dealt with bountifully every moment because you BELIEVE. That’s why that Jeremy Camp song.. “I still believe” is so powerful. I still believe. I mean….How many here know of one who has renounced their faith in the Lord Jesus? We hear or read about them…no doubt many of us know some to the ache of our heart….but nevertheless it happens. (1 John 2:19) “They went out from us, but they were not of us; for if they had been of us, they would have continued with us. But they went out, that it might become plain that they all are not of us.” Dear friend, if you wake up in the morning believing,….it is by the power and the Grace of God that you do! Praise God for that bounty of believing faith that unites you to Christ and secures your inheritance in Him. YET, don’t presume upon this Grace…Rather, seek Him diligently all the more that it would only strengthen. PRAY for the Lord your soul to keep… “Now I lay me down to sleep…I pray the Lord my soul to keep…If I die before I wake….I pray the Lord my soul to take”. That childhood prayer…if lifted up to your Father from a sincere heart…is an accurate and worthy prayer to speak. (Psalm 17:8) “Keep me as the apple of your eye; hide me in the shadow of your wings,”….Keep me…Keep me…Oh what a fitting and great prayer to regularly lift up. “Keep me”. When you arrive here….it compels you forward into praise. “my, heart shall rejoice in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord, because He has dealt bountifully with me.” Erupting into such praise has powerful effect to rise your soul above your circumstances. There is power in giving praise. CONCLUSION GOD - This is what I will do in the pain, in the agony of waiting upon you - I will worship and adore you for you are worthy of it and you are worth waiting for. This beloved, is what Paul was speaking of in (Romans 8:18-25) - turn there to close? A Patient Waiting with Great Expectation “For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” And though there is pain in learning patience….Jesus is so Worth Waiting For - PRAY COMMUNION