Is life on hold?
A few days ago I had to call my bank to resolve a minor issue. As I dialled the number and selected the relevant options, I had a sense of dread – this was going to take a while. Sure enough, the hold music began and for 25 long minutes the automated voice offered apology after apology. They were sorry for the wait but honestly, my call was important to them. As I put the phone on loudspeaker to do some jobs while I waited, my daughter asked a good question, “Dad, why do they keep playing that awful music?”
Perhaps life feels a bit like that just now. The dreaded soundtrack of isolation, restrictions and uncertainty is playing, and we’re fed up of listening to it. Our children’s exams are cancelled and our church buildings are closed. We miss one another. Life feels like it’s on hold, when will the waiting be over? When will ‘normal’ return?
“For the Christian, life is never on hold. God’s call to “redeem the time” is not qualified by context or circumstance. We’re called to work as we wait. ”
But for us as Christians, life is never on hold. God’s call to “redeem the time” is not qualified by context or circumstance. He wants us to live for him as we wait, to be “ready to give an answer for the hope that is within us” (1 Pet.3:15), to “make the most of every opportunity” (Col.4:5) and to “not become weary in doing good” (Gal.6:9). We’re called to work, even as we wait.
We see this vividly illustrated in the life of Joseph. If anyone’s life ever felt like it was on hold, it must have been his. When we meet him in Genesis 40, he’d been confined to an Egyptian prison cell for 11 long years. He’s in a dark and dingy dungeon, his feet and neck are chained to the wall (Ps.105:18), and there’s no end in sight. When will his waiting be over? Will his life ever be ‘normal’ again?
But rather than wallow in self-pity, Joseph is working while he waits. He’s been assigned to serve two men - the butler and baker of Pharaoh, the King. As he goes about this mundane task, his eyes are open to his God-given opportunities. His example encourages us in two ways.
KEEP ON USING YOUR GIFTS
God had given Joseph a gift – an ability to interpret dreams. He’d previously used that gift in the comfort of home. But now God was giving him the opportunity to use it in a less comfortable setting. As he wheels the prison foodcart from cell-to-cell one morning, the butler and baker each share their dreams from the night before. Even in this unusual setting, Joseph was using the gifts God had given him.
For me, one of the most encouraging aspects of church life over these past 10 months, has been to watch how God’s People have continued to use their gifts in the most unusual of settings. To see children’s ministry continue over Zoom. To find Sunday School teachers recording video lessons. To hear of meals being left on doorsteps, students being taken on walking tours, and letters being written to the lonely.
Keep on using your gifts. Though the settings may look a little different, it’s the same God who is providing opportunity. And his kingdom is never on hold. He is always in the business of building his church.
KEEP ON SHARING GOD’S WORD
While God had given Joseph this gift, he was quick to point to the Giver. “Do not interpretations belong to God?” (Gen.40:8). As he interpreted their dreams he wanted these men to know that what he was sharing was not some educated guesswork, but God’s revealed Word.
And that wasn’t easy. While he had good news for the butler, he had bad news for the baker. In just three days his life would be over. Think about how excruciatingly difficult that must have felt. He’s bound to have built up a relationship with him – they’ve got to know each other, perhaps even become friends. Hadn’t he had enough bad news, without adding this on top? Did he really need to know his days were so terribly numbered? Yet God’s call to faithfulness trumped Joseph’s feelings of awkwardness. As death and eternity stared this man in the face, Joseph shared the very thing he needed most, the living hope of the gospel.
“God’s call to faithfulness trumped Joseph’s feelings of awkwardness. As death and eternity stared this man in the face, Joseph shared the very thing he needed most, the living hope of the gospel. ”
That’s our call, too. In a world paralysed by fear, perhaps it can seem awkward or even unkind, to speak of God’s approaching judgement. But God calls us to be faithful. We have the message that the world most needs to hear. A living message of eternal hope.
I have to admit, after about 5 minutes of being on hold, I was so fed up with waiting that I was tempted to put the phone down and try again later. Perhaps you feel like that today. But as you stare into an unknown future, remember that you serve an unchanging God. As he has helped you in the past, he will help you today. And as you wait, he calls you to work, for him. Life in his service is never on hold.
