(April - June 2026)
Doctrinal Focus - Already/Not Yet
When Jesus began his ministry, he announced. “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand” (Mt. 3:2). As Jesus continued his earthly ministry, he performed countless miracles which revealed that the reign of sin and darkness was at an end. Every miraculous provision, every supernatural healing, every demonic expulsion, every bringing of life out of death - proved that Satan’s dominion over this world was passing away. And this victory was decisively attained with the crucifixion, resurrection, ascension, and enthronement of Jesus. We now enjoy a unique period of time where everything required to accomplish our redemption and salvation has been completed. We find confidence in Jesus' declaration from the cross that - “it is finished.”
But still, we wait. Even though Christ’s kingdom has arrived in reality, it has not been realized in its fullness. We are living in a period of overlap - between what Paul describes as the present evil age (Gal. 1:4) and the age that is to come. We have an inaugurated eschatology or an already/not yet understanding of our present world. This describes the entire period of time between Jesus’ first and second coming. We see the inbreaking of God’s kingdom already as we enjoy justification, the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, the gift of Christian fellowship, and growth in sanctification. But there is tension, because many elements of our redemption are still located in the future; they are not yet. One day we will experience full salvation - perfect fellowship with the Father, the healing of our physical bodies, lives completely free from the presence and effects of sin. But not yet.
However, today we have hope because Christ sits enthroned far above all rule and authority and power and dominion, and above every name that is named, not only in this age but also in the one to come (Eph. 1:21).
Disciplined Practice - Waiting
“Jesus said to his disciples, ‘A little while, and you will no longer see me, and again a little while, and you will see me’ (John 16:16).
Life is ‘a little while,’ a short moment of waiting. But life is not empty waiting. It is to wait full of expectation. The knowledge that God will indeed fulfill the promise to renew everything, and will offer us a ‘new heaven and a new earth’ makes the waiting exciting. We can already see the beginning of the fulfillment.
Nature speaks of it every spring; people [speak] of it whenever they smile; the sun, the moon, and the stars speak of it when [they] offer us light and beauty; and all of history speaks of it when amid all devastation and chaos, men and women arise, who reveal the hope that lives within them…..What is my main task during my ‘little while’? I want to point to the signs of the Kingdom to come, to speak about the first rays of the day of God, to witness to the many manifestations of the Holy Spirit among us. I do not want to complain about this passing world, but to focus on the eternal that lights up in the midst of the temporal. I yearn to create a space where it can be seen and celebrated.”
Waiting is rarely valued in a culture that prizes productivity and control. Yet much of life is not something we initiate but something we undergo; we are shaped not only by what we accomplish but also by what happens to us. The life of Christ reminds us that faithful living includes both action and what older, Christian writers called “passion,” the experience of being acted upon. Recognizing this reframes waiting as a meaningful spiritual practice. Waiting is not simply delaying before real work begins. It is itself a form of obedience. When we resist the impulse to control every outcome and, instead, receive life as it comes under the providence of God, waiting becomes an arena for trust. Rather than striving to control every outcome through our own action, we learn that faithfulness often takes the form of patient surrender.
The practice of waiting also reflects the character of God’s relationship with us. God does not coerce love or faithfulness but patiently awaits our response. When we learn to wait faithfully, we thus participate in that same posture of divine patience. Waiting then becomes more than endurance; it becomes a way of sharing in the love of the God who works patiently within history and our lives.
Waiting also reshapes how we serve others. Many of life’s most significant problems cannot be solved quickly: Illness, grief, disappointment, and uncertainty require something deeper than efficient action. Faithfully accepting our “passions” with grief and gratitude helps others see that God’s glory can break through not only in moments of decisive action but also in places where we feel and are powerless. To practice waiting is to live attentively within the already and the not yet of God’s Kingdom. Even when we are not in control, God is at work, and patient hope becomes part of our faithful witness for what is to come.
Directed Affections - Patience
Patience is the ability to persevere over a long period of time in a calm, self-possessed way. Although patience/impatience is often evident, patience is much more than just a behavior or acquired skill that many of us lack due to our inability and unwillingness to be bored. This “thin” modern understanding of virtues as tools that make us happier and properly optimized misses much of what lies behind patience and its purpose.
Patience is based on expectation and hope, and it grows by behaving repeatedly as if that hope is better than any short-term alternative you could impatiently settle for. Job beautifully articulates how patience seems naïve and impossible when calamity strikes and you don’t know whether your future will ever feel good again. Job asks: “What is my strength, that I should wait? And what is my end, that I should be patient?” (Job 6:11)
In modern terms, Job is asking, “What’s the point?” and “Why go through the pain of not satisfying my desire for relief or pleasure?” This is the central question we must answer, and then stake our lives on whether or not we want to grow in patience.
Patience is only possible if you believe that things are not as good as they could be and something better is coming. But what is it that you’re anticipating? Upward mobility and optimization, or something beyond? As Christians, we look ahead toward joy, satisfaction, wholeness, love, worship, and union with Christ in its most complete and perfect form.
11 And we desire each one of you to show the same earnestness to have the full assurance of hope until the end, 12 so that you may not be sluggish, but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises. - Hebrews 6:12
What has been promised that we should practice and grow in patience, enduring present pain and unanswered questions calmly, prayerfully, hopefully, and non-reactively?
Eternal inheritance — Hebrews 9:15
A heavenly country and city — Hebrews 11:16
Good gifts — Matthew 7:11
Maturity and wisdom — James 1:4-5
All your needs — Matthew 6:33
As we go through our daily prayers and worries, God responds with “I am.” We see that, in part now, and one day we will behold fully that He is. All the goodness we received, most of it completely unnoticed, was through Him, to Him, and for Him….it was Him.
What is ahead of you today that challenges you to be patient and endure both in the short-term and long-term? As St. Teresa of Avila’s famous prayer says, of all things:
Let nothing disturb you,
Let nothing frighten you,
All things are passing away:
God never changes.
Patience obtains all things;
Whoever has God lacks nothing;
God alone suffices.
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Recommended Reading: Waiting Isn't a Waste: The Surprising Comfort of Trusting God in the Uncertainties of Life, Mark Vroegop
1 Henri Nouwen, Sabbatical Journey