Eagerly waiting! There are times when these two words really don’t seem to go together. But then, in other settings, they compliment each other beautifully.
We often associate being eager with getting something done quickly, or being anxious about something, such as being eager to get a scheduled surgery over with as soon as possible. In contrast, there is waiting. The room you occupy before seeing the doctor isn’t called "the hurry up room," is it? No, it’s the “waiting room”—and well named for sure! But Scripture brings these two thoughts together perfectly. Notice the common theme.
“…even we ourselves groan within ourselves, eagerly waiting for the adoption, the redemption of our body.”
“For our citizenship is in heaven, from which we also eagerly wait for the Savior, the Lord Jesus Christ, who will transform our lowly body that it may be conformed to His glorious body.”
“To those who eagerly wait for Him, He will appear a second time, apart from sin, for salvation.”
Finally, as expressed in the following verse we see suffering Job’s eager longing to see the Lord.
“For I know that my Redeemer lives, and He shall stand at last on the earth; and after my skin is destroyed, this I know, that in my flesh I shall see God, whom I shall see for myself, and my eyes shall behold, and not another. How my heart yearns within me!”
We do not ever want to look at the coming of the Lord as just an escape from the unpleasant trials of this life. However, if we lack a heartfelt yearning or eagerness to be with Him, it may indicate that we are too attached to this world and its pleasures. Are we eagerly waiting to see the Lord face to face, or is that event something we would rather have postponed so we can fully enjoy all this world has to offer? Answer honestly — it may reveal more about your true spiritual condition than anything else.
