TV Static

Squinting Through the TV Static

It’s finally Saturday morning! I jump from the bed and race down the hall to the living room. Nestled in the corner is our giant, wood cabinet television. I pull out the power button knob, twist the channel dial, and boom… Saturday morning cartoons are sure to be playing.

Much to my surprise and dismay, all I see is a screen full of static. I think maybe if I squint really hard, maybe I can see something. But nothing! I only see a snowy surface of black and white dancing dots. No color. No music. No sign of Tom and Jerry.

Why? Why are my favorite Saturday morning shows not there? Is the TV broken? “Daddy! Come fix the TV!” “Daddy! Wake up! I need you!”

As Daddy opens his eyes he says, “Amanda, it’s too early.” “It’s not time yet.”

Have you ever found yourself in a season of waiting? Waiting for something you need? Something you want? Waiting for a prayer to be answered?

This morning I’ve been thinking about some of the examples God gives us in the Bible about waiting. Like Abraham and Sarah, who were old and impatient, but God promised them a child. Like Joseph who was many years in prison, separated from his family. Like Moses in the wilderness. Like Job in his unimaginable suffering. Like Daniel, who waited in a den of lions.

My waiting now seems pretty small.

In Psalms 130, we read this…

130:1 Out of the depths have I cried unto thee, O Lord.

130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope.

When I was a child I didn’t understand why the TV didn’t work, why it was not yet time for my cartoons that I loved watching. So I cried out to my Daddy for help.

Today as I am squinting to see through the static of life, as I struggle to wait, as I question the brokenness, I go to my heavenly Father and I hear his voice say to me, “Amanda, it’s not yet time.”

Waiting is so hard! But today I am trusting in God’s promises.

He is working.

He is moving.

He is in control.

Perhaps you needed this reminder as well.