Let your heart take courage as you wait

Hachiko bronze statue at the Shibuya Station

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” (Psalm 27:14 ESV)

A remarkable story of faithfulness

When I think of what it means to watch faithfully and wait, I think of the famous story of Hachico, the Akita breed, dog born on November 10, 1923 in Japan. Hidesaburo Ueno was his master, a professor in the agriculture department at University of Tokyo who took Hachiko as a pet in the year 1924. The dog and his master became good friends and developed an attachment such that Hachiko used to greet his master at the end of each day at the nearby train station. This daily routine continued until May 1925 when the professor died of a cerebral hemorrhage and did not return to the train station where Hachiko was waiting for him. Every day for the next nine years, Hachiko waited for his master at the Train station in the same evening time. People who saw the dog with his master earlier understood the faith of Hachiko for his master and that is how the dog became famous in the country. Hachiko died on March 8, 1935, and was found on a street in Shibuya. Hachiko  faithfully waited for his master to return, but sadly, he never did. But, we have the promise that our Master, Jesus, will in fact, return for us someday, in the same way He left. Therefore, we wait faithfully and expectedly, for His return with complete assurance.

“… Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into the sky? This Jesus, who has been taken up from you into heaven, will come in just the same way as you have watched Him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:11 BASV)

Therefore…

“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him.” (Man. 3:25 ESV)

“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.” (Isa. 49:31 ESV)