Emmanuel Day 9

Emmanuel, God with the waiting

“But remember me when it is well with you, and please show kindness to me; make mention of me to Pharaoh, and get me out of this house. For indeed I was stolen away from the land of the Hebrews; and also I have done nothing here that they should put me into the dungeon… Yet the chief butler did not remember Joseph, but forgot him…

Then it came to pass, at the end of two full years.”

Genesis 40:14-15, 23, Genesis 41:1

It’s the propensity of human nature to latch on to another human as their ticket out of hard times. I’ll never forget the day we found out that my husband had stage four cancer. I texted a close friend, expecting her to get in her car immediately and drive right over to help us through the emotions, but she never came. I’m sure you’ve experienced deep trials where friends back off because they just aren’t sure they can handle the weight of what you’re walking through. Whether it’s because they don’t know what to say or what they can do to help you, suddenly you find yourself not only in the place of worrying about your trial, but also wondering where your friends went. It’s embarrassing, but I’ll be honest and say that I’ve also been on the disappearing end of friendship when others have walked through deep trials that I just didn’t feel capable enough to handle or speak into. Sometimes the issue is the longevity of the situation, and other times we say nothing because we fear saying the wrong things. Empathy needs to be learned, and we’re instructed to weep with those who weep, but no matter which way you look at it, other humans are only humans, and we just weren’t designed to hold the full weight of another human’s trial. The morning after we found out about Jason’s cancer, I remember feeling so alone, and opening up my Bible that morning to read Psalm 121:1-2

“I lift up my eyes to the mountains—
    where does my help come from?
My help comes from the Lord,
    the Maker of heaven and earth.”

God often uses times of difficult waiting to get our eyes off those who seem to be the strong, sturdy, dependable, mountains in our lives. Our help can’t come from another weak and feeble human, no matter how strong and mighty they may seem to be. Trials in the waiting rooms of God outlast the strength and ability of other people and cause us to realize that Emmanuel, God with us is the only One who can truly surround us, support us, uphold us, and strengthen us in the way we truly need.

You remember Joseph’s story, I’m sure. The favorite of his dad, as shown by the gift of a coat with sleeves or colors, thrown into a pit and sold into slavery by his jealous brothers. Falsely accused by his slave-master’s wife and thrown into an Egyptian prison. Even there Joseph serves with passion and integrity, and when Pharoah’s butler and baker end up in jail with him it’s almost as though you can see the wheels of his mind turning. THIS is how God is going to provide a way of escape for me! But as we read, the butler forgets, and two long years go by. We know the good things that God had in store for Joseph, and that His goal wasn’t simply to free him, but rather to use him as a second-in-command ruler for the purpose of saving the known world from famine. As we read the book of Genesis, it’s just a tiny little chapter break before we get to the rest of his story, but as poor Joseph waited, he didn’t know the answers to the “how-long” and “why’s” that we ask so often in our own stories. We know Joseph wasn’t forgotten by God. This wasn’t punishment, this was development. Joseph wasn’t rendered useless; God was getting him ready for what was next.

I would imagine that you’ve already baked some great things this season and are probably getting ready to bake some more. When your timer goes off and you check on what you’re baking, what do you do when they’re still a little soft or squishy in the middle? You close the oven door again. Because you’re mean, done, or have given up on them? Because you no longer want them? Because you want to use something else instead? Of course not! You close the oven door again because you know they need to cook for just a little bit longer before they’re fully ready. Closing the oven door for just a few more minutes is the baker’s way of saying, “Almost, not quite; if I take it out now it would be just a little too soon.”

Seasons where we wait in the hot ovens of life are God’s way of saying to us, “Hang on for just a few more minutes because I have some great things ahead of you and you’re not quite ready for them yet.” Friend, when the oven closes and the heat remains, we have to remind ourselves that we’re not done, shelved, over, yesterday’s news, washed up, washed out, finished, completed, concluded, out of the way, defunct, over with, living with an expired date, kaput, ineffective, terminated, all wrapped up, buttoned up, used up, rendered useless, or any of the other words that the enemy has the propensity to whisper to us while we’re in a season of waiting. Do you ever wonder in the waiting, like I’m sure Joseph did, what you did wrong, where you went wrong, if you were made wrong, or if you were just plain wrong about God, wrong about life, or wrong about the callings, dreams, and promises that you really thought God whispered to your heart?

Joseph chose to fight bitterness and hopelessness and to instead trust God’s timing and his ways, and it sure paid off in his life, didn’t it? Through all of his waiting he learned not to depend on the mountains in his life, so much so that he was able to speak his famous words to those who had caused all of his problems, “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.” (Genesis 50:20 NIV)

Emmanuel, God with us through the waiting. His ways are so much higher than ours, and His wisdom so much greater. We can’t even begin to understand the fullness of what He’s doing. It’s the truth of every analogy you’ve ever heard about the hard times. Diamonds and stars shine brightest in the dark. Christians are like tea bags, the hotter the water the stronger the flavor. Times of waiting are a call to deepen what we know of Emmanuel, and to learn to depend on His presence that is with us in an even greater way.

Maybe you’re waiting for something this Christmas. The Holiday season often seems to be a marker in our minds for memories, doesn’t it? We say phrases like, “Remember last Christmas when…” or “Maybe by next Christmas we’ll…” Maybe for you Christmas is also a marker of how long you’ve waited, how long you’ve been without, or have been waiting for God to heal, restore, redeem, return, rebuke… The list of all that we wait for can go on and on and on. Maybe you can’t imagine waiting two full years like Joseph did, or maybe you’ve been waiting much longer. Maybe you’ve had many conversation-with-the-butler moments where you’re just sure that this will be it. “Things will change.” “Now they’ll finally understand.” “This is what God will use to accomplish the good things He has for me.” But still those conversations seem to go unheeded, unheard, untouched, and unused. Friend, can I encourage you to keep waiting just a little bit longer? Even if life feels like a cul-de-sac, you will turn a corner where you will see the goodness of God. A Christmas will come where you’ll find yourself sitting in the blessing and favor of Emmanuel, looking back at all of the ways He was with you while you waited.

Emmanuel; with us IS GOD