Proverbs 8:34. Blessed is the one who listens to me [Wisdom], watching daily at my gates, waiting beside my doors.
The image Solomon is using here is of someone waiting outside the door for the other person to get home. Have you ever waited in anticipation for someone you love to get home, or maybe for a beloved friend to meet you somewhere? You couldn’t wait for them to arrive. You keep checking over and over to see if they are here yet. That’s how the Proverbs see us watching and waiting for God’s wisdom.
Waiting is essential in the Christian life. We are literally waiting for Christ’s return. And with this, we are waiting for all things to be made right and whole. We wait for answers, even as we don’t know what questions to be asking. The bottom line is that we are NOT God. We do not know everything that God knows. His wisdom comes to us in pieces and parts. Why the global virus? Why the war? Why did I lose my job? Why did he leave me? Why was her life so short? Why am I stuck in this sorrow?
And so we wait. But we don’t wait passively. We are watching while waiting.
There is no nihilistic ambivalence in our waiting. There is active seeking of wisdom. There is watching for it to arrive from the tower of God’s grace in Christ. Jesus and his cross give us a view into all things, even those things that we cannot understand and wait to comprehend. From the cross we can see into the heart of God, the mind of God, even the future of God and all things. We can see that getting the answers we are waiting for is not as important as trusting the goodness of the God who withholds those answers. “Why have you forsaken me?” gives way to, “Into your hands I commit my spirit.”
What are we to do as we wait for all the answers to come?
Keep watching. Keep listening – Blessed is the one who listens to me [Wisdom].
On the Mount of Transfiguration, the heavens opened up, and Christ shone with the glory of God, as the Father declared, “This is my beloved Son, listen to him.” Listen to Jesus, for he is the wisdom of God. Worry less about what you aren’t hearing from God, and focus more on what you are hearing from God through Christ in you. You may not know all the whys, but you know the who, what, and how.
Christ in you (who), trusting the Father (what), by the power of his grace (how).
You: Are there any big questions that you are still waiting on God to answer?
You in Christ: Why is knowing WHO even more important than knowing WHY? How does your union with Christ answer the who question?
Christ in you: How might you let the cross be your watchtower for waiting on God? How does your union with the cross allow you to see answers to life’s biggest questions?
Pray: Father, when I don’t understand all the whys, help me to wait and watch from the who, what, and how of Christ. Amen.
To Live is Christ 