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‘And the child grew and became strong; he was filled with wisdom, and the grace of God was on him.’
(Luke 2:40, NIV)
There’s something about the early years of Jesus’s life that intrigues me.
Between the account of twelve-year-old Jesus in the temple and the start of His public ministry at about age thirty, the Bible records very little about His life.
Yet I highly doubt that those “silent” years were wasted years. God was preparing Jesus for His public calling through ordinary life, family responsibilities, work, and spiritual growth.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Can you relate to the often-frustrating event of…waiting…?
As I write now, I am in an extended season of waiting for something I have dreamt of all my life. It can make me feel hidden and even forgotten at times, but really my heart knows that that is not the case.
The Lord uses times and seasons of waiting to prepare us. Just as Jesus had to grow from a child into a man, becoming strong, filled with wisdom and grace, we too must undergo times of waiting in order for the fullness of God’s work in us to take place.
I have two friends who are married to each other and have several years difference between them. Now, as the older counterpart, my male friend had to endure a prolonged season of singleness before meeting my female friend and marrying her because she simply was not of age to marry until the time was right.
It was only when their paths – and ages – aligned appropriately, that they were free to build a relationship and, eventually, get married.
Had my male friend grown impatient with the waiting, hidden years, he may have crumbled and either married the wrong person or become bitter and resolved not to marry at all. Both eventualities would have robbed him – them! – of the relationship they get to enjoy together today.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Waiting seasons teach us that God is sovereign.
They remind us that He is in ultimate control and knows what is best for us. Being out of control is not always a comfortable feeling, but the wait is almost always worth it, especially when we review the waiting period in hindsight.
I don’t believe that Jesus’s hidden years were even perceived by Him as ‘waiting’ – I believe that He was simply going about His days and ways, faithfully working as a Carpenter, loving His family and quietly knowing that, when the Father gave Him the ‘ok’, His ministry would begin.
How do you perceive your waiting season?
Do you see it as idle waiting or as valuable preparation and building time?
The lesson for believers is that God’s preparation often happens in obscurity before it happens in visibility.
Many Christians feel frustrated when they’re not seeing progress, opportunities, or answers to prayer. Jesus Himself spent far more years preparing than preaching. If the Son of God embraced a season of hiddenness, perhaps we should not despise our own.
Sometimes God is doing His deepest work in us before He does His greatest work through us.
