Eagerness in Waiting

So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him. (Heb. 9:28)

Heb. 9:24-28; Ps. 62:1; Jer. 31:33, 34; John 12:32, Acts 26:18; Phil. 1:20, 21

What Is God Saying?

Jesus dealt with sin on the Cross (I Pet. 2:24). He did it once and for all time. This was in contrast to the Old Covenant where an atoning sacrifice is called for once a year. Our Lord's death, atoning for the sins of mankind, was once for all (Heb. 7:27).

• It was a one-time thing.

• It was for all time.

• It was for all sin.

• It was for all people.

That was the reason for His First Coming, but for our purposes today, the spotlight turns to His Second Coming. The Christian is waiting for that. He will appear a second time, the Second Coming in power and triumph and glory, and Christians should be waiting for that eagerly.

How Does This Apply To Us?

This passage has to do with waiting. We, as Christians, do not wait for His First Coming. That has happened. Concerning Salvation (His First Coming), the One Who is waiting is Jesus, our Lord. He is waiting for sinners to repent, to accept His saving grace, to turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God (Acts 26:18). He is waiting for us, His followers, to fully accept the Great Commission so others may come to see the Christ lifted up, drawing all men to Himself (John 12:32). He is waiting for us to enter more fully into the blessings of His First Coming: to bear the Fruit of the Spirit, to enjoy the freedom of being captives of His love, and to know the joy of being busy in the work of His Kingdom.

As Christians, we are indeed waiting. We are all waiting. The question is how we wait. We can wait in sadness, bewildered by the seeming success of evil, dejected because the world seems to be going to pieces. We can wait with impatience because the Lord seems to delay His triumphal return, or we can wait with eagerness. This is a great blessing. Be confident, assured, and eager since we know He is going to return. That eagerness is based on promises, and, with God, a promise is a fact.

We are heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ (Rom. 8:17). Can we imagine how our hearts would be racing if we were waiting for a will to be read with an inheritance that we had good reason to believe would be in the millions? It would be no ordinary sun that came up on that day. The sky would seem unusually blue. The grass would be greener. The world would sparkle with a greater beauty than we ever noticed before. How much more should we be eager for His coming again to show us all the glory, all the joy, all the riches, all the beauty of a place where the stain of sin and the sting of death can touch us no more?

Pray With Me

Lord, teach me the grace of eager waiting. There is an eagerness that cannot wait and a waiting that loses its eagerness. Fill my heart with such sure, glowing thoughts of Christ that in my eagerness, I will find it possible to wait and in my waiting, I will not grow discouraged. In Your Word, I read, ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength.’ Lord, may it be that all my waiting will be waiting for You. Such waiting does not lose its enthusiasm and its strength. Such waiting finds strength constantly renewed and eagerness continually replenished.

Forgive me, Lord, when I have just waited—waited for a more convenient time, waited for a better day, waited on the whims of the flesh, waited for the approval of others. In such waiting, O God, eagerness for Your kingdom and the way of righteousness fade and die. It can find no root. Cut off from You and lacking the nourishment of Your Word and Spirit, all such waiting leads to inactivity and waste, which in turn, leads to weakness and defeat.

Lord, help me to see that eagerness is short-lived and shallow unless it is rooted and grounded in Your eternal love. I know the eagerness that is not willing to wait for You. How barren is the eagerness that goes ahead of Your plan. How disappointing is the eagerness that is too impatient for the unfolding of Your will. Let my enthusiasm be drawn from the deep wells of salvation. Let it be sustained by the pulse-beat of living hope. Let it be nourished by the truth that the risen Lord Jesus, ‘Having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for Him.’

Even so, come, Lord Jesus. Amen.

Moving On In The Life of Prayer

Waiting is another word for prayer. ‘They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength’ (Isa. 40:31). Now let us add this rare element to our prayers and waiting, eagerness. Waiting with joy for His answer; it's always better than our finest dream. Waiting with confidence for His solution; He is still in control. Waiting with hope for He is coming again.

Eagerly waiting. That is prayer in its finest hour!