Wait Your Turn
By Rev. Heidi L. Barham | November 8, 2026
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Read 1 Thessalonians 4:13 – 18 (NIV)
Our New Testament lesson this morning is found in the Apostle Paul’s letter to the Thessalonian Church. As you may recall, if you were here last week, this is a church that Paul founded around AD 51 during his second missionary journey.
Paul wrote this letter to the believers at Thessalonica just a few years later… primarily to encourage them in their faith, but also to correct their misconceptions about the resurrection and Christ’s second coming.
They were living in the mistaken fear that family and friends who had already died would miss out on Christ’s return and the glorious kingdom that is yet to come… but Paul did his best to set the record straight for them and by extension for us modern-day believers as well.
Now, to be perfectly honest, as I looked at the Lectionary readings for this week, I was not one hundred percent certain about using this particular text…
Most of you know that I work in hospice and palliative care, and as a result I find myself frequently being confronted with death and dying... but that does not make this an easy subject to talk about.
Although, I frequently give presentations and reference a rather startling statistic… one out of one goes… while also encouraging audience members to reflect on the fact that none of us get out of this thing called life alive… it was still a bit of a challenge to try and unpack this text.
And that is because this is a subject that still hits a little too close to home for me… but I took comfort in something that I read in the commentary section of the Life Application Study Bible: “Paul wanted the Thessalonians to understand that death is not the end of the story. When Christ returns, all believers – dead and alive – will be reunited, never to suffer or die again” (LASB, 2005, p. 2023).
Hopefully, those words will provide some comfort to all of us who have had a loved one die… “death is not the end of the story.”
Although, that could be the end of the sermon… and we could just move on over to the Communion table… [but, you all know me better than that, I can’t let you off the hook that easy].
In all seriousness, I do want to invite us to reflect on this text and consider what it means when we are told to WAIT YOUR TURN.
For anyone here who has older brothers and sisters, were there times when your parents told you to WAIT YOUR TURN?
For example, when you wanted to learn how to drive… or when you wanted to start dating… or even when you were simply trying to get into the bathroom to take a shower… WAIT YOUR TURN was probably not what you wanted to hear.
But what about now that we are grown… how often do we still hear those words… WAIT YOUR TURN?
All your besties have gotten married and started families of their own… WAIT YOUR TURN.
You’ve been passed over yet again for that promotion on the job… WAIT YOUR TURN.
Folks from your high school graduating class are posting stories about their retirement… WAIT YOUR TURN.
There are any number of points in our lives when we will hear those dreaded words… WAIT YOUR TURN.
And that brings us to our text… as we think about the scenario that Paul was painting for the Thessalonian believers… the time will certainly come when Christ will return and those who have already died will rise… but have no fear… those who are still alive will not be left behind… we, too, will be caught up and meet the Lord in the air… but Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians provides a timeless message of encouragement for all believers who are still alive… WAIT YOUR TURN.
In other words, the day will come when Jesus comes back for all of us… so that we can all live with Him forever. And that is a promise that is woven throughout the Scriptures that we can hold onto from here to eternity.
In Matthew 24 (30 – 31, 34 – 36, 42), we read:
In John 14 (3), we read, “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come back and take you to be with me that you also may be where I am.”Then will appear the sign of the Son of Man in heaven. And then all the peoples of the earth will mourn when they see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory… And he will send his angels with a loud trumpet call, and they will gather his elect from the four winds, from one end of the heavens to the other… Therefore keep watch, because you do not know on what day your Lord will come.
And a little further on in John’s Gospel, we find Peter asking Jesus about whether John would die since Jesus had just told Peter about his own death. In response, Jesus said, “If I want him to remain alive until I return, what is that to you? You must follow me” (John 21:22).
Those are just a few examples…
Now, in the Inspirational Bible, which was edited by one of my favorite authors, Max Lucado, there is a selection taken from his book, “And the Angels Were Silent,” that accompanies this passage from chapter 4 of Paul’s letter to the Thessalonians.
Lucado specifically references verse 16 of our text and the loud command from the Lord when he writes:
Oh, what a day that will be! This follows from what we find in Revelation 21:4 where we read, “’He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death’ or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away.”Have you ever wondered what that command will be? It will be the inaugural word of heaven. It will be the first audible message most have heard from God. It will be the word which closes one age and opens a new one.
[Lucado continues…] I think I know what the command will be. I could very well be wrong, but I think the command which puts an end to the pains of the earth and initiates the joys of heaven will be two words: “No more.”
The King of kings will raise his pierced hand and proclaim, “No more.”
The angels will stand and the Father will speak, “No more.”
Every person who lives and who ever lived will turn toward the sky and hear God announce, “No more.”
No more loneliness. No more tears. No more death. No more sadness. No more crying. No more pain (As cited in the Inspirational Bible, 1995, p. 1368).
No more… two very small but powerful words… no more.
The day will come when death, and grief, and pain and suffering will be no more… and we will live in the kingdom of heaven forever with Jesus and all those who have gone on before us.
Paul’s letter provides a reminder to the Thessalonians and to us… that the Day is coming… but until then… WAIT YOUR TURN.
But that can be so much easier said than done… especially when we look at what is going on in the world around us while we wait.
We continually bear witness to the chaos and confusion, the division and dissension as well as the retribution and retaliation that is being meted out with laser-like precision and intentionally on a seemingly daily basis… and it seems safe to say that we have seen so much more than we could have ever imagined.
But rest assured… none of what has happened and is still happening has caught God by surprise.
In fact, Jesus warned the disciples that they would face some challenging times.
You have probably heard me quote John 16:33 on more than one occasion. It is there that we find these words, “I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.”
The New King James Version says, “You will have tribulation…” while the New Living Translation says, “You will have many trials and sorrows…” and the Contemporary English Version says, “you will have to suffer…”
But the one that really drives the point home is found in the Amplified Bible, which says, “In the world you have tribulation and distress and suffering…”
That’s a lot!
Then add to that Jesus’ words found in both the Gospel of Matthew (24:6) and the Gospel of Mark (13:7), “You will hear of wars and rumors of wars, but see to it that you are not alarmed. Such things must happen, but the end is still to come.”
And it seems fairly evident that the heartaches and hardships we are being confronted with are not news to God… in fact, His Word put us on alert that all of it was going to be coming our way.
As I thought about that… I was reminded of the last recorded speech of the Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. that he gave during the sanitation workers’ strike in Memphis, TN on April 3, 1968… the day before he was assassinated.
In his infamous and powerfully prophetic speech entitled, “I’ve Been to the Mountaintop,” Dr. King laid the groundwork… setting the stage for what lay ahead when he said:
I would like to imagine that if we could hear from Dr. King today… he would probably tell us all about the glorious promised land… but I also believe he would tell us that there is still more work for us to do before we get there.Well, I don't know what will happen now. We've got some difficult days ahead. But it really doesn't matter with me now, because I've been to the mountaintop.
And I don't mind.
Like anybody, I would like to live a long life. Longevity has its place. But I'm not concerned about that now. I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the Promised Land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land! (Source: American Rhetoric: Martin Luther King, Jr. - I've Been to the Mountaintop (April 3 1968))
There is still injustice for us to fight… there are still hurting people for us to tend to… and there are still more folks who need to hear about Jesus.
I can almost hear Dr. King echoing the words of the Prophet Micah, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God” (Micah 6:8).
And I can also imagine him taking a page out of Paul’s book… offering words of encouragement that the day will come when Jesus comes back for His church… but until then, keep doing the work while you WAIT YOUR TURN.
Now, the good news is that we have been given the privilege and the opportunity to do what the Lord has commanded us to do… to love God and the people of God… and to tell them about God’s Amazing Grace that went to a cross at Calvary, so that when the day comes and it is finally our turn… we can spend eternity with the Lord.
And that is good news we all can use!
Hymn of Discipleship: Amazing Grace #546 Back
