Most of us recognize the opening words of the book of Ecclesiastes.
Ecclesiastes 1:1-3:
The words of the Preacher, the son of David, king in Jerusalem.
Vanity of vanities, says the Preacher,
vanity of vanities! All is vanity.
What does man gain by all the toil
at which he toils under the sun?
These words and the essay that follows are the counsel of the preacher who learned, late in his spiritual journey, that searching for peace and fulfillment in the world, with any of its offerings, rather than in service to God, is futile.
Verses 5-9 go on:
The sun rises, and the sun goes down,
and hastens to the place where it rises.
The wind blows to the south
and goes around to the north;
around and around goes the wind,
and on its circuits the wind returns.
All streams run to the sea,
but the sea is not full;
to the place where the streams flow,
there they flow again.
All things are full of weariness;
a man cannot utter it;
the eye is not satisfied with seeing,
nor the ear filled with hearing.
What has been is what will be,
and what has been done is what will be done,
and there is nothing new under the sun.
I remember reading these verses one time while I was a young mom with three children under five years old, and thinking how well they described my daily life. The sun rises and sets and one day blurs into another. Errands and appointments keep us moving, but not accomplishing. Meals are cooked, laundry is washed, yet the “sea is not full.” Tiny children, never satisfied, want more stories, more games, more attention. “I am too tired to ’utter’ how tired I am.”
Don’t get me wrong. I loved being devoted to my children, my husband, and my home. Even then, there was nothing I would have traded my life for. I know it’s God’s will for me to love my husband and children and work to manage my home. If the worthy woman of Proverbs 31 could rise while it was still dark, so could I. I just thought it was going to look grander, feel loftier, at least involve wearing nicer, cleaner clothes.
And, I thought it was going to last forever. Forgive me, but one day I actually did the math to calculate what year it would be when my youngest turned 18. I didn’t realize that the season would be over in a “heartbeat” and its precious value is in its fleeting nature. I also didn’t realize, that in a sense, it also would be forever - as that date on the calendar came and went with no change in this mother’s heart.
Let’s look at other examples. How many men and women experience a daily grind in the workplace where one day after another looks exactly the same? Business demands are never satisfied. An email inbox is like the sea which fills and empties and fills again. Providing for a family should make you feel like a hero, but instead sometimes you just feel part of the unseen masses.
We know God intends for us to work; He provided work for man even in the Garden of Eden. The curse of sin has made daily toil on earth something we long to be free of. Paul writes to the Thessalonian Christians encouraging them “…to mind your own affairs, and to work with your hands, as we instructed you, so that you may walk properly before outsiders and be dependent on no one” (1 Thess 4:11-12). Our quiet daily service glorifies the Lord.
What about Bible Class teachers who might have imagined themselves expounding great truth as children gather around their knees? In reality, they find themselves cutting, gluing, laminating and singing the same children’s songs for years. Yet, the Psalms remind us that “one generation shall commend Your works to another and shall declare Your mighty acts” (Psalm 145:4). So we teach patiently as these children learn and grow. And we wait, hoping others will step up to the task.
Shepherds of the Lord’s church may have no “city gate” where they sit and pronounce righteous judgement. Rather, they find themselves in homes asking uncomfortable questions and leading awkward discussions in order to “have mercy on those who doubt; save others by snatching them out of the fire” (Jude 1:22-23). How often does the work of an overseer mean mowing a lawn or sitting in a hospital waiting room? At the end of a long day, is a shepherd’s work really finished?
Because of where we live, my husband and I have not been the primary care-givers of our parents as they aged. We have tried our best to be available, but we have watched our siblings give up much of their own personal lives to care for our parents when they could no longer care for themselves. The caregivers’ daily lives very much resemble the life we had as young parents. It’s staying home a lot, so missing out a lot, the days blurring one into another. Listening to the same stories, serving the same meals, and trying to be heard without appearing to shout.
Serving and waiting can be unglamorous and repetitive, maybe even dreary. Satan can tempt us with a desire for something more. He hopes we will decide it’s not enough, or that it’s futile. He hopes we will give up on our responsibilities and serve ourselves instead of the Lord.
We need look no further than Jesus for a spirit of obedience in waiting and serving. He waited for 30 years to begin His ministry. He was submissive and learning and waiting. Even as a child, He longed to be in His “Father’s House” (Luke 2:49).
The story of the wedding in Cana in John chapter 2 tells us He waited until the time was right to begin to reveal His message and power. As news of His healings spread, it’s said “He could no longer openly enter a town…and people came to Him from every quarter” (Mark 2:45).
What was it like for Him day after day? The people found Him no matter where He went, wanting Him to teach them, and pleading for healing. In asking someone to count the cost of following Him, He described His lifestyle: “The Son of man has no where to lay His head”
(Matt 8:20). Where was the fanfare and comfort this King deserved?
He waited patiently for His disciples to grow in faith. In His last days with them, He told them, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now” (John 16:12). And He patiently endured His shameful trial and the cruel cross until all prophecy was fulfilled before He gave up His spirit and died.
He served, and He waited. He understood why He was waiting. Sometimes we do not understand the point of our waiting. He served with humility. He “did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men” (Phil 2:6-7). We struggle to let go of our pride and desire for admiration.
And now, we wait. We wait for His return. We are in “the last days.” Jesus Christ conquered death and serves at God’s right hand (Col 3:1). We await His coming at the end of time. He has given us our duty. Three parables in Matthew 24 talk about the responsibility of servants who wait while the Master is away, knowing He will return. In the parable of the faithful servant, we are to feed and care for His household. In the parable of the talents, we are to increase His kingdom. And in the parable of the wise virgins, we are to honor His name at all times with lights burning.
So we serve to please God, to do His will, to be like Christ. While we wait, we honor Him. We do all to His glory. So then, the peace is in the serving. The peace is in the waiting. It’s a God-given privilege to raise a child in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. It’s a blessing to be able to provide the ones I love with food and clothing. It’s an honor to be a teacher or a shepherd of God’s family. And it’s a noble work to serve the aged in their last days as they wait for their promised reward.
One of the dearest people on earth to me right now is my aunt, my mom’s sister. If she is still with us as this article is released, she will be 98 years old. She has outlived her own generation, her husband, siblings and friends. She outlived her only son. It’s just two nieces now, who do their best, but lack so much. In her weakened state, she gets sad because she feels like she can no longer serve. But she does serve as an example to me, of what it looks like to wait on the Lord, with patience and contentment and confidence in everlasting life.
“Isaiah 40:31 says “…they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”
In the words of the hymn, “Teach me Lord to wait.”
