“Daddy, can you play outside with me?” he said as I got ready for a quick run one beautiful Sunday afternoon. “I promise buddy, as soon as I get back from my run we can play outside. Whatever you want to do,” I responded. He plopped down in a folding chair positioned in the driveway facing the lake and I finished lacing up my shoes. I gave Knox a quick wave and took off for my run. ( FYI – he was not alone! My wife, Erin, was outside working in the yard)

My twenty-five minute neighborhood run was just what I needed that afternoon to clear my head. Honestly, I thought Knox would have forgotten our plans when I approached the end of our driveway. Surely he had started playing a game with his little brother or helping his mom water some plants or something. As soon as my feet hit the long driveway, I looked up and to my surprise Knox was still sitting in that chair. When Knox noticed I was walking up, he immediately jumped from his chair and sprinted toward me. “Daddy!” he exclaimed. Half-way down the driveway we met with a big hug. “Buddy, have you been in that chair the whole time?” I asked. “Yeah, dad. Just up here viewing the view,” he chimed back with a smile. I was blown away! Had he really not moved from that chair? Did I really deserve that grand entrance with a hug after only being gone for such a short time? What did he wait so patiently for? One thing is for sure, he was ready for my return and had no doubt that I’d be back. In fact, he just calmly sat back and enjoyed the view (or “viewed the view” as he put it) while he waited. 

Scripture tells us countless stories of waiting. Abraham and Sarah were promised a son twenty-five years before it happened. And thus Abraham, having patiently waited, obtained the promise (Hebrews 6:15 ESV). Joseph’s wild ride began at age senteveen when he was sold into slavery. He was thirty years old before Pharaoh gave him that big promotion (Genesis 42:46). We know that Job suffered terribly for at least a week and still praised God through the waiting (Job 2:13). Most of us want our perfect job in our early twenties but Jesus had to wait until he was thirty before he could begin his ministry. 

New York Times bestselling author and pastor, Dr. Mark Batterson, said his first memory as a child was waking up to an awful asthma attack at the age of three. From that day forward, he kept an inhaler on him everyday. It never left his side. For forty years, he prayed hundreds of prayers for his asthma to be healed. Then at age 43, he went a few days in a row with no inhaler. Then another few days went by with no need for his old companion. You guessed it, and then a few weeks went by. Pretty soon he’d gone fifty days without it. Not much longer after that, he threw that inhaler away completely. He had been healed. 

What are you waiting for right now? Maybe it’s that promotion or for that family member to come around. It could be that call from the doctor. It might just be that crazy red light making you late on the way to work. Whatever it is, God hasn’t forgotten about you. There’s purpose in this time. I know waiting doesn’t always look like sitting back and “viewing the view” (we don’t always wait calmly and there’s grace for that) but God showed me something through Knox that day. Knox knows I wouldn’t leave him. He trusts me. He knows I love him because he’s experienced it before. He had faith in the waiting and my promise. Can’t we try to wait that same way knowing that God will never leave nor forsake us?

I’m gonna wait on You

I’m gonna wait on You

I’ve tasted Your goodness

I’ll trust in Your promise

I’m gonna wait on You

Elevation Worship, Maverick City Music. “Wait on you” Old Church Basement, 2021.

Just fishing with my daddy, 

Ryan