BOOK REVIEW by JASON GHRIST: "Sacred Waiting" by David Timms

28 August 2010

By JASON GHRIST
ResonateNews.com

From the book’s cover a reader might conclude that “Sacred Waiting,” by David Timms, is merely another study in the disciplines of the Christian life. The reader might erroneously assume this is a book on patience with the “how-to” for making it through a traffic jam or dealing with an unruly child without loosing one's cool. Other, “at-a-glance” assumptions might be that Timms is writing to decry our fast-paced distracted society and show us how to slow down and live in the present.

For this reason, the reader who is struggling not simply with patience to deal with life’s difficulties, but rather peace in the midst of a difficult life may in fact overlook its revolutionary message.

Peace is the main benefit “Sacred Waiting” can provide for those who take Timms message to heart.

Timms writes, “When our bed is awash with tears at night, when our stomachs knot tighter and tighter, when our hearts feel ready to break with the agony of grief or conflict, what can we do? For my head, I take a capsule and expect relief within thirty minutes. But for my spirit, what fast fix exists?”

Timms shows us that inner peace comes in sacred waiting, not in fast fixes. He describes sacred waiting through the use of the metaphor of a waiter at a restaurant. Waiters, he writes,  stand at attention and develop a relationship with their customers. They also fulfill the customers’ order first by listening well and then by providing exceptional service with a smile.

Timms likens our relationship with God to this metaphor. He says we are to wait patiently getting to know God, listening well and then serving him when and as he tells us what to do.
Timms offers Biblical examples of people that fulfilled this role in their relationship with God: Noah, it is presumed, walked with God and knew his voice well enough to hear him say, “Build an ark.” and Noah obeyed perfectly. Abraham also knew God’s voice well enough that when God said, “Leave your people… and go to a country I will show you.” he did. Timms uses the lives of Moses, David,  Jesus and his followers similarly.
What is interesting to note is that perfect obedience or understanding was not exhibited by every Biblical  figure Timms mentions. The Bible mentions grievous failures in this matter of “sacred waiting” by everyone except Noah and Jesus, and only Jesus was perfect. Yet even in the face of imperfection, the point is well made that each individual’s main task was to wait in attention for God’s voice and to obey.

To the measure they listened well and then obeyed, these men discovered peace in waiting on and knowing God in the midst of unanswered prayer, undesirable outcomes and even suffering.
We, too, are inexperienced in relating to our Creator, Timms writes.
We go to God only when we desire something, expecting God to give us our full attention when we have never even bothered to give him ours, much less seek to know what he desires and what he wants instead.

He writes, “the Lord cares deeply for us and the issues of life that touch us. However, we too easily cross the line and begin to view Him as our servant rather than ourselves as His slaves.”

The question then that probably comes to mind is, “Why?”

We may ask, “Why does God make us wait? Why does he remain silent?” and possibly most importantly, “Why does he not take away our suffering?”
Fortunately, Timms does not leave us completely in the dark. Strangely, the answer can be discovered in the waiting itself.
Timms writes that not all waiting is good if it is not approached in the right way. If we do not first learn to stay attentive and dependent on God and thus learn to trust Him as an everyday experience, we will find ourselves becoming angry and embittered. However, if we practice “sacred waiting,” we will find a deeper knowledge and understanding of God’s love and trustworthiness that instills a sense of inner joy and peace in the face of any circumstance. This outcome, Timms writes, is exactly what God desires for us and should be what we desire the most as well.