Truth in a Beer Commercial

The Kansas City Chiefs won the actual game, but Bud Light may be the winner when it comes to Super Bowl commercials.

"Your estimated wait time is less than 96 minutes," the automated voice says via the speakerphone resting on Keleigh Teller's forehead. Then, the hold music starts. You know the music.

We all know the music. It's one of the most popular songs played on hold. The song is Opus No. 1 by Tim Carleton and Darrick Deel, better known as the Cisco hold music.

While the exasperated Keleigh lays on the couch waiting, her husband, actor Miles Teller (Top Gun: Maverick), opens up two Bud Lights and starts to dance to the hypnotic music.

It's a humorous dance, and he beckons his wife off the couch to join in. She relents and finally gives in as the living room dance party begins.

What starts as something mundane becomes something joyful.

Tom Petty might have sung, "The waiting is the hardest part," but that is not true in this Bud Light commercial. The beer company is said to be "harnessing the power of easy enjoyment" with its new campaign. I think they harness it well.

The phone is not the only place we find ourselves on hold. There can be a lot of "being on hold" in life... a lot of waiting. We are all waiting for things to play out how we want them to.

We wait for many things. It might be for a job, a spouse, or for starting a family. It might be waiting for the test results to come back or for a health issue to be resolved. Or perhaps it's for a prodigal loved one to return. Waiting takes many forms.

While we are "on hold" it is easy to get bogged down in worry and just plain stuck. In other words, you stay on the couch with the phone balanced on your forehead, waiting… waiting… waiting. When is this going to end? When will my answer come? Is there really someone on the other line?

However, during our "hold time," God wants us to let go and trust His story for us. We are to trust His timing. It's okay to go on and live our lives (or even dance!) when life has us on hold. I wonder how many simple joys God has for us that we miss out on while we pause our lives during times of waiting. Why stay on the couch when there is dancing just a few feet away?

Yes, we are called many times in scripture to wait on the Lord.

"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope." Psalm 130:5

But, I am more convinced that does not mean putting everything in our life on hold. After all, the same God who calls us to wait also says…

"Today is the day the lord has made; let us Rejoice and be glad in it." Psalm 118:24

It seems like the choice is to stay stuck in worry or rejoice and dance. And God's word is very clear about worry.

"Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?" Matthew 6:27

"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Philippians 4:6

This is one of the great tensions in life. Holding the reality of the seasons we're in and what we're waiting for with the truth that we can find good and joy in the midst of it all. What does it look like for you to hear the beat and maybe even dance a little while you wait? Hopefully the song is a little better than Opus No. 1.