As my wife and I anticipate the birth of our son in only a few days, my thoughts have often turned to the Lord’s manifold purposes in seasons of waiting—waiting for an answer to prayer, for an open door, for healing, for relief, for employment, for retirement, for a child to come, for a child to return, and all else between.

President Teddy Roosevelt once made the observation that, “Comparison is the thief of joy.” For the most part, I tend to agree with him—though, I wouldn’t have used the word comparison, but we’ll get around to all that.

Theologian A.W. Pink once observed, "When we complain about the weather, we are, in reality, murmuring against God."