That Sunday Night Feeling.

Sunday nights at my childhood home were always a strange time for me. I don’t quite know the words to express my feelings of those times but I can only describe them as having “a sense of an ending”. The weekend was all but over, but it was not quite ended. Mum had made a lovely Sunday dinner, all of the weekend activities had ceased, and the family were all sitting watching television.

There was no more time left to do anything that could be considered a weekend activity. All the preparations for the week ahead had been completed – work stuff, school stuff, home stuff. And there was nothing left to do but sit and watch television. Or read. Or play games.

Too early to go to bed. Too late to go outside. Children’s television programs had finished for the day. We were into adult viewing time now. And the children sat together and carried out their various activities.

These feelings were compounded in winter time by the darkness outside. We were indoors in the warmth. And having finished the lovely meal mum had made we were all well fed and dry. And yet, I still had this feeling that there had to be something more to a Sunday night. It was a social dead zone.

And in my later years I think this same way about church history. All of our church history seems to have passed. All of the big major revivals and reformations appear have come and gone. What we are left with now is a patchwork quilt of churches and denominations all over our towns and cities, all worshipping and praising God in their various ways. And we all sit around waiting for the new week to begin.

The Bible talks quite a bit about these periods of waiting. Whatever has happened previously is all done and dusted. Whatever is to come is not quite here yet. And all is quiet. These quiet times are very prevalent in biblical times. The Children of Israel had this time of quiet while they were slaves in Egypt. Their life as slaves went along with the usual normal difficulty until one day a man came wandering from the wilderness. His name was Moses.

After their wanderings in the wilderness of the Sinai Desert the Children of Israel were settled in Canaan and were living their lives as a tribal people when one day a Prophet came into their camp. His name was Samuel.

Under the royal rule of King Saul the Children of Israel were leading their tribal warrior lives against the Philistines until one day a young lad came wandering in from the hillside. His name was David.

And so their chequered history goes on, with a period of quiet and then a period of busyness. Sunday is over, but it’s not quite Monday yet. And we all still have these periods in our lives. A period of quiet when one action finishes and the next one hasn’t started yet.

But these are the “waiting times”. These are the times that God prepares us for what is to come next. At one time Israel were sitting by the Rivers of Babylon and weeping for Jerusalem. A short time afterwards they were packing up and moving back to Jerusalem under the leadership of Ezra and Nehemiah.

The Books of Ezra, Nehemiah and Malachi were all written around 450-430BC. And then there was nothing. Until one day, a man came wandering in from the wilderness. He is known as John the Baptist. The rest of the story are the accounts of The Messiah, His sinless life, His crucifixion and resurrection, and the founding of the Church.

But it’s during the quiet times that God is at work in our hearts. Consider the Psalmist…

Psalm ch46 (10) “He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.’

We seem to forget sometimes that God is working while we are waiting. We think that God has ignored us while we wait. We think that God has forgotten us. But the truth is that God is preparing something else ready for our arrival. Our job during this quiet times is to continue praising and worshipping Him. And, more importantly, to keep trusting Him.

Do not be afraid of the quiet times. Do not worry about them. God is still on His throne and He has not forgotten you. Your time will come. And no matter whether the task is great or small, God will want us to step up to the mark.

Philippians ch4 (6-7) “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Romans ch15 (13) “May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.”

They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength
They shall mount up with wings as eagles
They shall run and not get weary, walk and not faint
Teach me Lord, teach me Lord  to  wait

Paraphrased from Isaiah ch40 v31

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