I hate to wait. When the stakes are high–for an important relationship or for your ship to come in–what do you do with all the longing and hoping?

To cope, you can tell yourself that what you want doesn’t really matter in the big scheme of things. It hurts too much to keep asking, so you shut that part off and learn to live with less of you. Or you decide you’ll have this thing no matter the cost, and you do what it takes to get it—even if what you do is destructive.

But what if waiting made the happy ending happier? What if longing and grieving actually carved out more room in us for the joy that’s coming, so that we can hold even more? The Bible says this is what waiting and grieving do—they enlarge us so we have more joy when what’s hoped for finally shows up, Jn 16:20-24 MSG.

God doesn’t say, “Shut that desire down!” On the contrary, he says “Amp it up!” This is the kind of God he is–the One who delights to fill us slap-up. He tells us to dream bigger and grander, not smaller. Jesus said it like this, “Ask and you will receive, that your joy may be full,” Jn 16:24 ESV and MSG.

I love this idea, and some days I believe it. But some days, I don’t. The happy endings for Joseph and his father, Israel, were a long, long time coming. Their stories encourage me as I wait for my own.

Genesis 46-47

Israel finally believes his sons, that their brother, Joseph, is alive and well. Though they’d sold him as a slave, he becomes the top dog of Egypt in a rags-to-riches story good enough for Sundance. Once he’s reunited with his brothers, he sends supplies to his family to move to Egypt for the duration of the famine, Ge 45:25-28.

When they get close, brother Judah goes to Joseph to ask where all 66 of them can settle in. Joseph returns by chariot to greet his father, and he weeps a long, long time. Israel says he’s ready to die now that he’s seen Joseph alive. Israel’s happy ending begins here, and it was 22 years coming, Ge 46:28-30.

Joseph’s in charge of the food he’s stockpiled, and all Egypt must come to him to buy it. But the famine becomes so severe, the Egyptians run out of money, so they trade their livestock, their land, and themselves for seed so they can eat, Ge 47:13-26.

Pharaoh ends up owning every single thing in Egypt, and it’s because Joseph had the wisdom to make a plan and see to it. With his family nearby and his power second only to Pharaoh’s, Joseph’s happy ending starts here. No longer the rejected brother, the accused slave, the forgotten prisoner, Joseph’s joy is beyond his wildest dreams.

Both father and son had been devastated. They doubted anything good would come from their miseries. But God had been working all along for their benefit, refining their characters and lining up all the details.

God’s timing sometimes feels like his watch is broken, but when all the pieces come together for Israel and Joseph, I see how he had the timing planned perfectly. And when I zoom out and see the saving he brought the whole world through their story, I marvel how God uses all of the details, even their sorrow.

One last snippet:

On their way to Egypt, Israel stops in Beersheba and worships at an old altar he’d built there. God tells him not to be afraid of going to Egypt because God’s going with him, and he’ll see Joseph, who’ll be with him for the rest of his life, Ge 46:1-4.

God could’ve told Israel 22 years earlier exactly what happened to Joseph. At the least, he could’ve said his son was gone for now and would return. God knew. But he waits and tells Israel after he’s already found out. Why is that?

The good work God needed to do in Israel included removing the idol Joseph was for him. And God does it. No doubt thrilled to learn his son is still alive, Israel takes time to worship God on his way to see him, because he’s learned that only God deserves his worship. I love this peek—I bet he was, beaming.

I’m waiting for my happy ending, too. I know it’s out there–it’s just a matter of time. The One who didn’t forget Joseph and Israel hasn’t forgotten me, either. In my waiting and wanting, he’s carving out more room for the joy that’s coming. And while I’m waiting, I’m learning to trust him.

Reading these stories, I see that the best part isn’t about Joseph or Israel, it’s about the God who hadn’t forgotten them, who sees them through, even when their way is darkest. This is the God worth worshiping.

When your happy ending is a long time coming, remember God hasn’t forgotten you.

Matthew 15:21-38

A Canaanite woman badgers Jesus to heal her troubled daughter. Jesus has his hands full with his own people, the Jews. But she won’t take no for an answer. He tries to throw her off by saying you don’t give dogs food meant for children, Mt 15:21-26.

But she comes back with the quip that even the dogs get to eat scraps from under the kids’ table. Jesus is taken aback and says her faith “is something else.” She gets what she’s asked for–her daughter is healed, Mt 15:27-28 MSG.

If Jesus will give an outsider what they ask of him, certainly he’ll give insiders what they ask, too. But it’s not race or nationality or income or social status or being generous or honest that qualifies us.  It’s faith that he’s the only one who can help. This is the kind of faith the woman had, and Jesus did just what she asked.

Faith matters. There’s no sense praying for things you don’t really believe God will do. Prayer doesn’t work that way.

Actually, I don’t know much about how prayer works, but I do know that faith connects with God’s power to bring about what we ask. Jesus says many times that a person’s faith has made them well, (see Lk 7:50, 8:48, 18:42; Mk 5:34, 10:52 for some of them).

God is eager for relationship. He wants eye contact and voice contact and hugs of trust. He wants our deepest prayers and highest hopes and hardest hearts broken and surrendered, so he can meet us right there in our mess and rescue us. 

Faith engages with God to bring about what we want, which is friendly when you think about it. And if you don’t have any faith, ask him for it.

When your happy ending is a long time coming, keep coming to Jesus and asking, believing.

Psalm 19

God’s word is powerful. Like the sun, it bursts forth every morning and carries us through the day. How? By guiding us, warning us, cleaning us, and holding hidden treasure for us to find, Ps 19:4-5, 7-11.

David says it’s an all day experience, good from sunrise to sunset, always available and life giving. And like the sun, “God’s Word vaults across the skies…melting ice, scorching deserts, warming hearts to faith,” Ps 19:1-6 MSG.

Is this your experience? If it isn’t–if the Bible is joyless, tasteless–don’t let that stop you. Sometimes it’s awful stuff, I have to admit, and I just can’t get through it.

But I don’t quit. 

I come back the next morning and start again. I keep plugging away, and here’s why: I figure if there’s a disconnect of enjoyment, the problem is in me, not in the Bible. The truth is, it’s sweeter “than strawberries,” and God’s words don’t lie. I’m beginning to taste and see, Ps 19:10.

When your happy ending is a long time coming, plant yourself in God’s words and find yourself thriving.

Prayer

God, Thank you for using the waiting I’m doing for my good. Help me look to you as God and no other. Give me faith to trust you can do what I ask of you. Thank you for your words that encourage and comfort me.

In Jesus’ name. 

Proverbs 4:18-19

Want to get brighter the longer you live? Want to “glow with light”? I do. Solomon says the way of right-living does this in you, while wrongdoing brings about the opposite result—increasing darkness, and blindness, too.

Passages from Genesis, Matthew, Psalms, and Proverbs are selected for today in The Yearly Bible.