Last month, I wrote about how the words wait and hope are tied together in the ancient Hebrew language; and about asking ourselves, in what – or in Whom – our hoping and waiting is placed? Well, June will mark the re-start of in-person worship at St. Andrew’s. For many, the waiting and hoping will soon be over.

I would suspect that June 1st will simply mean we now have a new set of dynamics for which to wait and hope – dynamics that may add to those already present. (You’re probably wondering when a good word will come from all this?) If those are your thoughts, here is the good news…

The good news is that although June 1st will signal added dynamics to our waiting and hoping, it will not change the foundation upon Whom our hoping and waiting is bound. We tie our decision to wait a while longer before going back, knowing that waiting will not result in a weakening of the bonds we have with God and with fellow believers. If anything, it will reveal the strength of those ties – strength found in the kind of genuine love that is based on God’s love.

We do not tie our decision to move forward in attending with some fatalistic hope that says, “If God wants to take me, God will just take me.” Instead, we tie our decision with a hope placed in the One who teaches us to always look out for the wellness of those most vulnerable; to always ask ourselves, who will be receiving the most glory in going back? Me or God?

Waiting tied to God will be waiting that will not mind the wait of another week or another month. Why? Because the wait will not be time wasted, but time spent in learning more of the One who teaches that waiting upon the Lord can result in a renewed strength.

Hoping tied to God will be hoping based upon the surety of God’s presence, whether the first few weeks or months will have 10 people attending or 30 people attending. It will be about a confidence that God will speak to us even if our worship is in-person, online, or some point in between. Why? Because we worship the God who is bound by neither time nor space.

My sincere hope is that you will find the means to be in a place of hearing God’s message, be it in-person or virtual; and of sharing what God is doing in your life, be it in-person or virtual. The best news of all is that God is with you!