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Anticipation is Keepin' Me Waitin'
Growing up I remember watching a classic TV commercial about, of all things, ketchup. Heinz 57 ketchup to be exact. In it, a young boy was eagerly awaiting the opportunity to smother his plate of French fries with ketchup. As he turned the bottle upside he waited. And waited. And waited some more. As the ketchup began to slowly ooze down the neck of the bottle toward the plate of fries, a Carly Simon hit began playing in the background.
Anticipation, anticipation
Is makin' me late
Is keepin' me waitin'
Ever-so-slowly the ketchup would reach the mouth of the bottle, but it was well worth the wait.
Anticipation is a powerful emotion of wanting. It’s the feeling of looking forward to, usually eagerly, to something that is going to happen. For some it can have an effect in changing their minds and quite possibly redirect the course of their life. Maybe there are events you eagerly look forward to. Graduation. Summer vacations. Volleyball tryouts. Getting married. And the list goes on and on. Sometimes the hours and minutes and days can’t come fast enough. And so we wait. I’m reminded of the remarkable statement Peter makes in his discussion concerning the day of the Lord:
Since all these things are thus to be dissolved, what sort of people ought you to be in lives of holiness and godliness, waiting for and hastening the coming of the day of God . . .
2 Peter 3:11-12a
It’s an interesting passage to say the least. One of the more notable things is Peter’s choice of the word “hastening.” How about you? Do you want judgment day and His coming to accelerate? To come quickly? The faithful are told to look forward to the judgment of God (2 Thessalonians 1:7-10). Do you have that same sense of eagerness when you consider Christ coming again? Do your future expectations take into account Him? Are you prepared?
We need to have a "kingdom mindset." Can you imagine how beautiful heaven must be like? We should live everyday with eternity with God in the forefront of our minds. My mind can probably create a million images and scenes but I am 100% sure they don’t even come close to the real thing. There should be an anticipation within us that will not disappear. Our minds and manner of life need to be renewed daily to constantly think about eternity. There is one eternal destination that my heart longs to see. What about you? Does your life reflect that? Does mine?
Putting our faith and hope in that eternal rest and glorious worship to our King is what makes this walk with Christ worth it.
O Lord, I call upon you; hasten to me!
Psalm 141:1a
I think back again to that Heinz 57 ketchup commercial. “Anticipation is keeping me waiting” . . . and it’s definitely worth it. We should be waiting for the Lord's return—not with dread, not with fear, but with joyful, anxious anticipation and excitement.
