Jan 23, 2026 Waiting on the Promise

Written by our Evangelism Director, Karl Lindsay, during his project trip to Ethiopia.  

We have been driving for hours towards the Ethiopian mountains. The road has changed from bitumen to dirt, and in some places even to mud. Warm air filled the car while the window stayed cold against my head. I was exhausted, and the drive seemed to never end.  

I just want to get to our destination—my patience is running thin. 

I have just come from leading a mission trip to Malawi for two weeks, then eight hours of travel brought me to Addis Ababa yesterday, and now I’m spending all day in the car with new friends. 

I can’t be upset because I planned this, but I am exhausted nevertheless.  

Ethiopia has been a place I’ve wanted to visit since I first tried Ethiopian food in Kenya as a student missionary. Their food had ranked among my favorite cuisines for more than 10 years, so even though I was exhausted, I was excited.   

I am only in the country for 48 hours, and my goal is to visit people living in remote areas to hear how God is working in their lives and communities.   

What I am realizing is that I didn’t give much thought to how long it took to reach those remote areas.  

We left the city at 7 in the morning and have been driving through the beautiful countryside all morning. The roads after lunch were rough and slow going, and we didn’t end up arriving at our destination until 4 in the afternoon!  

If I had known it would be more than 7 hours of driving, not including our lunch break, I’m not sure I would have considered the 48-hour stopover in Ethiopia worth it.  

But I’m so glad I did.  

This is obviously a simple illustration, but how many times have you waited for something for far longer than you anticipated, only to realize it was 100% worth the waiting?  

Maybe it’s that ideal job or dream place to live? Or the relationship you’ve been praying for finally becomes a reality? When the answer to our prayer arrives, and it’s better than we even dared to hope for, it’s a reminder to us that God knows us better than we know ourselves.  

But then, a few months later, we’re back in that process of waiting—waiting on the next answer to our prayers. And it’s easy to slip back into doubting God’s plans for our lives.  

It’s in these times that God is asking us to hold on a little longer and wait on His promises.  

I am beginning to feel like my body is melting into the seat, my legs are begging to be stretched, and my back is feeling each and every bump in the road.  

As if my new friends could hear the thoughts in my head, they tell me we’re almost there… 

I notice something off in the distance, and it makes me immediately sit up. Off in the distance is a group of men coming towards us, some on horseback and about eight men piled onto two motorcycles.  

My driver begins to slow as we get closer, I am not sure what’s going on, who are these men? Usually, a group of men on motorcycles and horses isn’t something you want to encounter when you’re traveling.  

We begin to slow as we approach them, one of the men smiles and waves, motioning for us to follow. That’s when it hits me, we’ve made it. This is my welcoming party.  

My body immediately relaxes, the exhaustion from the journey fades, and excitement burns bright.  

They escort our vehicle to the village, honking their horns and prancing their horses the whole way.  

When we arrive, I’m met by a crowd of people who have been waiting since 10 am—nearly six hours. Some of the women are dressed in elaborate choir robes. Everyone is cheering and singing. It’s wild and completely unexpected.   

They lead us through the village to a meeting place they’ve prepared. After a few speeches, I was presented with a very special gift—traditional clothing from their region. In front of the crowd, the church leaders dressed me in robes of white and gave me a traditional head wrap. 

As I take it all in, it hits me: this experience is a small foretaste of the Second Coming.  

We are on a journey through this life, and Jesus has promised to return on horseback to escort us home (Revelation 19:11). 

And when we arrive, I can only imagine the celebration. We’ll be greeted by the largest choir, and I’m sure they’ll be in elaborate choir robes too. It will be the most beautiful singing and a welcome unlike anything we’ve ever known.  

And when we get there, Jesus will place a crown on our heads and wrap us in robes of righteousness. (2 Timothy 4:8; Revelation 19:8). 

The journey here on earth can feel a lot like that drive through the mountains—long, uncomfortable, and slower than we ever expected. There are moments when patience runs out, and we quietly start to wonder if the waiting is worth it at all.  

But God sees the whole road.  

Just like that day in Ethiopia, when the drive felt endless, and my body was worn down, the celebration was already prepared long before I arrived. I just couldn’t see it yet.  

In the same way, God’s promise stands at the end of our journey. The waiting may feel costly, and the road may test us, but what awaits us is far greater than the distance it takes to get there. And God and His choir have been waiting for that day for far longer than we can imagine! 

And when we finally arrive, we’ll realize the journey, every mile of it, was worth the wait.