Learning to Wait: Presence Over Busyness in Church

Devotional

Day 1: Dusty Feet at the Threshold

Jesus stood outside Lazarus’ tomb, the stench of death clinging to the air. Martha protested opening it—four days of decay felt final. Yet Jesus insisted: “Did I not tell you that if you believe, you will see God’s glory?” The stone rolled away, revealing a God who works beyond human deadlines. [48:58]

Martha’s practical mind clashed with Jesus’ divine timing. She wanted action; He wanted trust. Jesus’ delay wasn’t neglect—it was an invitation to witness resurrection where hope seemed buried.

You’ve paced the threshold of unanswered prayers, smelling disappointment instead of glory. What if this delay is your stone waiting to roll away? Where have you substituted frantic calculations for quiet trust?

“Jesus said, ‘Take away the stone.’ Martha, the sister of the dead man, said to him, ‘Lord, by this time there will be an odor, for he has been dead four days.’”
(John 11:39, ESV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to open your eyes to the glory hidden in today’s waiting.
Challenge: Write down one delayed hope and pray, “Lord, I believe—help my unbelief.”

Day 2: Punch Bowls and Posture

Martha clattered dishes in the kitchen, her anger rising as Mary sat at Jesus’ feet. “Tell her to help me!” she demanded. Jesus replied, “Mary has chosen what is better.” The aroma of roasted lamb couldn’t mask Martha’s misplaced priorities. [44:54]

Martha’s service wasn’t wrong—but her resentment was. Jesus reordered her values: presence precedes productivity. The meal mattered less than the Messiah at her table.

How many ministries sour into bitterness because we prioritize tasks over the Teacher? When did you last let a dish go unwashed to sit with Him?

“Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made. She came to him and asked, ‘Lord, don’t you care that my sister has left me to do the work by myself?’”
(Luke 10:40, NIV)

Prayer: Confess one “good work” that’s become a barrier to Christ’s presence.
Challenge: Set a timer for 10 minutes today—sit physically still, hands empty, heart open.

Day 3: Twelve Hours of Daylight

Jesus told the disciples, “Are there not twelve hours in a day?” Night comes when we walk outside God’s timing. The disciples feared returning to Judea, but Jesus walked boldly—His schedule synchronized with the Father’s clock. [52:35]

Panic thrives in self-made deadlines. Jesus’ rhythm flowed from divine appointment, not human urgency. His “twelve hours” held enough light for each step ordained.

You’re checking calendars, not the Creator. What if your frustration stems from racing ahead of His pace? Where do you need to let go of “when” and embrace “while”?

“Jesus answered, ‘Are there not twelve hours of daylight? Anyone who walks in the daytime will not stumble, for they see by this world’s light.’”
(John 11:9, NIV)

Prayer: Thank God for His perfect timing in three specific areas of waiting.
Challenge: Circle three calendar dates and write “God’s time” beside them.

Day 4: The Weight of Empty Hands

The pastor confessed hating quiet moments after leaving youth ministry—game plans felt safer than silence. Like Martha, he’d confused motion for meaning until Jesus said, “Come to me, all who are weary.” [39:09]

Busyness often masks our fear of being unproductive. Jesus didn’t commission the disciples until after they’d “waited in Jerusalem” for power. Stillness fuels purpose.

What hollow hustle have you embraced to avoid facing your heart’s ache? When will you lay down the idol of indispensability?

“The Lord replied, ‘My Presence will go with you, and I will give you rest.’”
(Exodus 33:14, NIV)

Prayer: Ask Jesus to reveal one area where rest feels like failure.
Challenge: Leave one task undone today to pray over someone instead.

Day 5: Breathing in the Tomb

Lazarus’ grave clothes clung tight even after resurrection. Jesus ordered, “Unbind him.” The miracle wasn’t complete until Lazarus could move freely. Our waiting seasons are God’s way of loosening our death-grip on control. [01:05:15]

Resurrection life requires room to breathe. Jesus lets us wrestle in the dark so we’ll rely on His hands to untangle our fears.

What grave clothes still constrict you—old timelines, disappointed expectations? Will you let the Spirit cut them away?

“The dead man came out, his hands and feet wrapped with strips of linen, and a cloth around his face. Jesus said to them, ‘Take off the grave clothes and let him go.’”
(John 11:44, NIV)

Prayer: Name one “grave cloth” you need Jesus to remove today.
Challenge: Text a waiting friend: “God isn’t late—He’s preparing resurrection.”

Sermon Summary

The Spirit sets the tone by moving in preparation, not just in the big moment, so the waiting is not wasted. The delay in plans lands like an elephant in the room. The update is simple and hard at the same time: still no news, still a holding pattern, still later than anyone thought. The opportunity can be seen, smelled, tasted, but it is not here yet. So the question shifts from a date on the calendar to a posture of the heart: what does the waiting do to Christ’s people, and what is Christ doing in the waiting.

The story of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus answers that question by reframing delay. Martha’s first snapshot looks like hustle. She cleans, plates the food, readies the punch bowl, counts the chairs, and fumes when Mary drops to the floor at Jesus’ feet. Jesus reads the moment and says, slow down and be with me. The label “Martha” becomes shorthand for letting ministry drown intimacy, for missing the roses right next to the Lord. But the text refuses to leave Martha there. When Lazarus gets sick and dies, Jesus receives the message and waits two more days. The delay is not neglect. The delay is love with a timetable. The line lands like a clock chime: are there not twelve hours in a day. The light is enough for the step in front of the foot.

Lazarus’ tomb turns the holding pattern into holy preparation. The raised friend shows that Christ’s presence outruns anyone’s plan. The delay grows faith big enough to hold a miracle. The tension between control and surrender gets named in the body. The calling to lead often feels like a demotion when the joy shifts from game time energy to carrying weight, but that burden can be God’s signal that a new assignment is coming. Dry seasons where nothing seems to land can become the soil where trust takes root.

The waiting then becomes a practice. The church does not pause discipleship until a key turns a new lock. The church walks in the light it has today. The passage refuses to postpone life with Jesus. The line that changes everything is simple: Jesus is here now. If he is here, then the next step is not small. It is the step he is standing in. The body learns him. The body receives his love. The body keeps moving at his pace, not the calendar’s.

Key Takeaways

1. The Spirit forms in preparation. The Spirit does not just meet a crowd in a room. The Spirit meets a heart in the schedule and in the plan, teaching trust when nothing flashy is happening. Preparation becomes prayer with a pen in hand. Hidden obedience readies public faith. [32:37]
2. Waiting exposes desire and deepens trust. Delays surface where control has been confused with faith and where timelines have been baptized as promises. Jesus’ purposeful pause with Lazarus shows that love can look like waiting. Desire matures when it is handed back to God instead of gripped tighter. [46:43]
3. Martha’s hustle yields to presence. Martha’s busy hands are not evil, they are just loud. Jesus invites her to trade noise for nearness so that doing flows from being. The correction is tender and surgical, calling a soul to slow down and sit where life actually is. [44:54]
4. Christ’s timetable guides today’s step. “Are there not twelve hours in a day” sounds like a clock and a compass. The light given today is enough for the obedience required today. Faith walks by the light it has, not by the map it wishes it had. [48:58]
5. Jesus is here now, not later. The temptation is to delay joy, mission, and growth until the new space or the next milestone arrives. But presence is present tense. If Jesus is here, then love, learning, and the next faithful step belong to today. [64:50]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[32:37] - The Spirit moves in preparation
[33:04] - Wrestling with God to pivot
[33:47] - Convicted during ordination service
[34:46] - The elephant in the room: still waiting
[35:41] - Expectations pushed and delayed
[36:08] - Mother’s Day hope unmet
[36:30] - Opportunity sensed but not here
[36:45] - What the waiting means for Mosaic
[37:38] - The calling to pastor and identity
[38:02] - Not wanting a demotion
[38:40] - Loving teenagers and shifting roles
[39:09] - Feeling the weight and missing the small joys
[40:59] - Dryness and not understanding
[44:09] - Reintroducing Martha and Mary
[44:33] - Martha’s hustle vs Mary’s worship
[44:54] - Presence over production
[45:59] - Stop and smell the roses
[46:43] - Lazarus’ illness and Jesus’ delay
[48:58] - Are there not twelve hours
[52:35] - Mixed expectations about timing
[60:50] - Future opportunities still on the way
[64:50] - Jesus is here now
[65:15] - Take the next faithful step

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading
- John 11:1-44 (ESV): The story of Lazarus’ death and resurrection, focusing on Jesus’ intentional delay.
- John 11:9 (ESV): “Are there not twelve hours in the day? If anyone walks in the day, he does not stumble, because he sees the light of this world.”
- John 12:2 (ESV): “So they gave a dinner for him there. Martha served, and Lazarus was one of those reclining with him at table.”

Observation Questions

In John 11, how does Jesus respond to the news of Lazarus’ illness, and what reason does He give for delaying His arrival?
What contrast does Jesus highlight between Martha’s actions and Mary’s posture in Luke 10:38-42 (implied in the sermon summary)?
The sermon mentions that “waiting is not neglect” but an act of love with a timetable ([46:43]). How does Jesus’ delay in John 11 reflect this idea?
What practical examples does the sermon give about how “waiting exposes desire and deepens trust” ([46:43])?

Interpretation Questions

Why might Jesus’ statement about “twelve hours in a day” (John 11:9) be both a comfort and a challenge for those in a season of waiting?
How does Martha’s shift from busyness to trust in John 11 (after Lazarus’ death) reframe the way we view productivity versus presence?
The sermon says, “The delay grows faith big enough to hold a miracle.” How does Lazarus’ resurrection demonstrate this principle?
What does it mean for a church to “walk in the light it has today” rather than postponing discipleship until circumstances change?

Application Questions

Where in your life are you sensing an “elephant in the room”—a delay or unmet expectation that feels frustrating ([34:46])? How might this season be an invitation to reframe waiting as preparation?
Martha’s hustle was “not evil, just loud” ([44:54]). What “loud” tasks or responsibilities in your life might be drowning out opportunities to sit at Jesus’ feet?
Jesus’ “twelve hours” statement emphasizes trusting the light given for today ([48:58]). What is one practical step of obedience you can take this week, even if the bigger picture feels unclear?
The sermon warns against delaying joy or mission until a future milestone arrives ([01:04:50]). How can you actively practice gratitude or serve others today, instead of waiting for a “better” time?
Reflect on a past season of waiting that deepened your trust in God. How might that experience encourage someone currently in a holding pattern?

Sermon Clips

44s

#FaithInTheWait

“And then I'll tell you, when I accepted the position here, I accepted the call to come and be your pastor, the conversation that we had at the time, like, man, wouldn't it be possible if we were in there by Mother's Day? And here we are. We're still waiting. It still still hasn't hasn't happened. Happened. And that's put us in a tough place. And like I said, I'm frustrated, so I know a lot of you are frustrated. I know that you're discouraged. I know that you're disappointed because there is such an incredible opportunity in front of us. We can see it. We can smell it. We can taste it, but we're not there yet.”

75s

#PresenceOverBusy

“Martha's cleaning the house. She's making the food. She's making sure that the punch bowl is ready. She's making sure that, you know, the house is clean and ready to go. There's enough seats for all of the visitors. And she gets mad at Mary. Why aren't you helping me? And Jesus is like, that one, no. If you understood how big of a deal this was, maybe you would slow down too. And spend some time with me. And so I do. I use the term Martha as a slur, honestly, of people who who let themselves get too busy, especially when it comes to church work and don't just enjoy the presence of”

20s

#HoldingPattern

“I do have some bad news. And bad news is that there still is no news. We're still a holding pattern. We're still waiting. Don't worry. It's going to happen. Okay? This isn't a bad news of, well, guys, I don't know. It's nothing like that. But it is taking longer than to think of a stop.”

45s

#WrestlingWithGod

“And all of my type a personality said, amen. But God and I wrestled this week I wrestled with God a lot this week. I went into the weekend thinking, oh, Lord, I feel like you're starting to lead me towards changing what it we're is that I wanna talk talk about on Sunday. I kept wrestling with God until yesterday. Right?”

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Learning to Wait: Presence Over Busyness in Church

Devotional

Day 1: Dusty Feet at the Threshold

Day 2: Punch Bowls and Posture

Day 3: Twelve Hours of Daylight

Day 4: The Weight of Empty Hands

Day 5: Breathing in the Tomb

Sermon Summary

Key Takeaways

Youtube Chapters

Bible Study Guide

Sermon Clips

Learning to Wait: Presence Over Busyness in Church

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