Have you ever waited for something so long that you didn’t recognize it when it came? What came didn’t look like you expected so you overlooked it. Maybe you looked for a spouse but he/she was disguised as a best friend so you overlooked the person. Is it possible that the dream job would require you to start in an entry level position? Therefore, you discarded it because you didn’t want to start there. Is it possible that you have an unrecognizable wait? Meaning, you don’t recognize the thing you’ve been waiting for.
The Story: Isaiah 7:14; 9:6-7
In Isaiah 7:14, the prophet Isaiah foretold that a virgin would give birth to a son and call His name Immanuel. Also, Isaiah 9:6-7 foretold of the coming Messiah. Because of this prophecy, the Jews looked forward to the soon coming King. They anticipated someone from a royal bloodline and a stellar pedigree. Although the fulfillment of the prophecy came in Matthew 2:11 when Mary gave birth to Jesus; however, His humble beginnings led many to doubt His true identity.
In John 6:41-48, the Jews who were waiting on the Messiah, met the unrecognizable wait. Jesus proclaimed Himself as the Bread that came down from heaven. He was the Bread of Life. However, they only say Him as Joseph’s son. Therefore, their focus prevented them from seeing Him as the One they waited for.
The Lesson
How often are we like the Jews? We’re busy looking at everything except what’s right in front of us. Unfortunately, we look past the potential spouse because the person is nice but doesn’t check all the boxes on our list. Even in business, we overlook a candidate because they don’t have the right connections or education although they’re full of passion for the position and trainable. As a result, we overlook the unrecognizable wait because we don’t realize that what we’ve been waiting for has been before us the whole time.
How do we discover what’s been in front of our eyes all along?
- Challenge our internal beliefs. Why do we think the way we do? Have we developed some self-limiting beliefs that keep us bound in patterns of behavior?
- Learn new things. Explore the world and its possibilities. Interact with people outside our zip code to broaden our horizons. A new perspective enables us to see our world in a new way.
- Pray for clarification and understanding. God is the creator of all things so His vision supercedes our own. He can bring revelation to the places where we’re blind. He can open our eyes to the truth.
The unrecognizable wait can appear as a brain teaser. Nevertheless, it reveals that we don’t always recognize the very thing we’ve been waiting for. Like Jesus was in front of the Jews, there’s something in front of us we’ve been unable to see.
