The waiting is the story.

I wait for your salvation, O LORD.

Genesis 49:18

Here is a brief prayer inserted into a litany of blessings. As Jacob blesses all his sons, prophesying by unique Holy Spirit empowerment the fate of each of the twelve tribes of Israel, he stops to offer this very personal prayer. It is interesting that it is a prayer of “waiting”. It is the very first time in scripture that the concept of waiting on God is clearly articulated for us. As such it is worth figuring out why it is here.

Of course, coming as it does near the end of the story of Joseph, it should get our attention. Joseph’s story from the very start pointed to a life waiting to have God fulfill His revealed purposes. God had given the young boy Joseph some very unusual dreams. They were dreams about his future. They were glorious dreams. They were a vision of a much bigger future than a young boy could possibly imagine. They offended the sensibilities of his situation. They were dreams that disrupted the order of things, even upsetting his entire family.

Joseph waited. He waited obediently as a boy to know what God’s strange dreams to him could mean. He waited as his angry brothers rejected him and sold him as a slave. He waited as the head of Potipher’s house. He waited in the royal Egyptian prison. He even waited for the final fulfillment as second in command of the Egyptian empire. He waited as God brought his family back into his life. But Joseph himself never speaks of this waiting. It is just unfolded for us in the narrative. Yet here, his father Jacob hints at all that waiting in his small prayer. It is easy to miss. But all of the story so far was a patient LIFETIME call to wait, through a twist of circumstances as God, the Author of it all, spins the tale of the deliverance of the sons of Jacob through His purposes with Joseph.

Lord,

In a sense, all our waiting then is a patient purpose that You have for us. It is how You write the story! In fact, WAITING OFTEN IS THE STORY! Your pen is carefully inking Your desired story of Your greatness and our salvation across the blank pages of our lives. You are the Author of eight billion plus stories right now at this moment! Each unique. Each a love story of the gospel. Mine is just one of them. And as I wait, may I be patient. May I marvel at Your greatness, at the characters You have alongside me, and most of all, at Jesus, the Great Hero of all these stories! Waiting on this story right now is worth it. I too have dreams… many interrupted… feeling disrupted… yet I will trust the plot lines will come together, resolving beautifully in Your grace! Waiting in the story You write is worth it. I wait for Your salvation, O LORD!

Amen