Wait

My soul waits for the Lord
More than the watchmen for the morning;
Indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.
– Psalm 130:6

In a culture of immediate gratification, “wait” is literally and categorically a four-letter word. Ask ten Christians which part of the Spirit’s fruit they feel most lacking, nine of them will say patience. Pretty much anywhere you go in public, it will be quite evident that waiting is not something we do well. Unfortunately for us, it is something to be expected in our relationship with God.

The imagery of Psalm 130:6 is something I can greatly appreciate. In a previous blog (Weeping) I mentioned former experiences of hospital chaplaincy and over-the-road driving. Both of these involved perseverance through difficult hours late at night. In those “wee hours” our bodies yearn for rest, but our obligation requires alertness. And since there is no way to make the hands of the clock turn more rapidly, all we can do is wait. Like a watchman in the wee hours struggling to stay alert, so it can be for the person of faith.

If you haven’t already learned this, allow me to share with you an insight: God works on His own timing. It has been said that there are three answers God gives to prayer: yes, no, and not yet. I’m sure God’s answers are often more nuanced than that, but let’s go with it for this moment. If we ask and God says “yes,” we’re all good! If we ask and God says “no,” we don’t like it much, though we (hopefully) concede to God’s wisdom. But when God says “not yet,” then our patience has to kick in—and we just aren’t good with waiting.

Consider the people in the biblical narratives who had to wait on God. Ask Abram and Sarai how long it would take for God to provide a son. Ask Joseph (the “coat of many colors guy”) how long it would take for a dream to become reality. Ask the Hebrew people in Egypt how long it would take for God to send a deliverer. Ask the apostles of Jesus how long it would take for Messiah to invoke his reign on earth. Time after time we observe the need to simply live by faith, persevere and wait for the Lord’s perfect timing. It is much easier said than done.

Recently I heard a profound word of wisdom. I cannot recall the source of the word, and I probably will not share it exactly as it was originally written, but here it is. “The only thing worse than waiting for the Lord is not waiting for the Lord and then wishing you had.” Stick that in your random access memory and bring it to mind the next time you struggle with waiting. It is an extraordinary struggle to keep ourselves from being conditioned by our culture of impatience. Discipleship involves waiting on a God who measures eons like we measure days (see 2 Peter 3:8).

Learn to wait. The darkness will give way to the first light of morning. Then the blessing of the Lord will be yours in full measure.

{If you have made it this far, please take a moment to read just a bit more.}