Wait for the Lord

PASSAGE FOR THE DAY:
1        Out of the depths I cry to you, Lord;

2             Lord, hear my voice.

Let your ears be attentive

    to my cry for mercy. 

3        If you, Lord, kept a record of sins,

    Lord, who could stand?

4        But with you there is forgiveness,

    so that we can, with reverence, serve you. 

5        I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,

    and in his word I put my hope.

6        I wait for the Lord

    more than watchmen wait for the morning,

    more than watchmen wait for the morning. 

7        Israel, put your hope in the Lord,

    for with the Lord is unfailing love

    and with him is full redemption.

8        He himself will redeem Israel

    from all their sins. (Psalm 130, NIV) 

 

REFLECTIONS:
All of us have seasons in our life in which we clearly recognize that we are waiting—waiting for God to help bring to fruition a vision he has given us, waiting to meet the person who will become our spouse, waiting to finish school and begin a job, waiting for a career to reach a certain pinnacle. As Christians, we are all waiting and watching for our Lord to come again to redeem the world. Our usual reaction to waiting, however, is impatience. Rarely do we recognize the waiting self as beneficial. But Psalm 130 clearly states that waiting on the Lord is an important part of the with-God life.

Waiting teaches us that God's time is not always our time. As we read in 2 Peter:  

With the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day. The Lord is not slow in keeping his promise, as some understand slowness. Instead he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance. (3:8-9)

Waiting also prepares and forms us for future challenges. It is a good in and of itself. Waiting is not wasting; it is not sitting and doing nothing. It has a very clear purpose. Waiting is a time for us to develop hope in the Lord, to reflect on who he is and what he has done and will in the future do in our lives, to watch and listen attentively from him. It is the time in which we surrender: "Your will, Lord, not my own." If we learn to wait and hope in the Lord, truly, we follow Jesus' direction in John 15:5: "Those who abide in me and I in them bear much fruit."

 

 

POINT OF ACTION:

I'd like to encourage you to attempt what may sound like an oxymoron: to work on growing our souls by waiting. Somehow, in the midst of your schedule, set aside half an hour to wait. This can be done in a multitude of ways. Take a long soak in a bath tub. Sit quietly under a tree. Lie on a bed of grass or carpet. Sit in a rocking chair and look out the window. Turn off the TV and relax in your recliner. Before you start, dedicate this period of waiting to God. While you are waiting, listen. Listen to the birds singing. Listen to the train blowing its horn. Listen to children playing in the schoolyard. Listen to the car stopping at a stop sign. Listen to the wind rustling tree leaves. Listen to the sounds of the world coming awake. Then gradually, deliberately listen for God speaking to you as you are waiting. Remember, you are not doing nothing; you are making space for your soul to grow. Since this exercise focuses on waiting, feel free to temporarily put aside your journal or Bible study or whatever you regularly do to keep the communication lines between God and yourself open. If you feel you must carry through on your promises and practices of praying for other people, try to do that at another time. We might say waiting is wasting time with God, but the truth is that time spent before God is never wasted.

 

 

PRAYER:

Hear me, Lord, and answer me,

    for I am poor and needy.

Guard my life, for I am faithful to you;

    save your servant who trusts in you.

You are my God; have mercy on me, Lord,

    for I call to you all day long.

Bring joy to your servant, Lord,

    for I put my trust in you.

You, Lord, are forgiving and good,

    abounding in love to all who call to you.

Hear my prayer, Lord;

    listen to my cry for mercy.

When I am in distress, I call to you,

    because you answer me.

For you are great and do marvelous deeds;

    you alone are God.

Teach me your way, Lord,

    that I may rely on your faithfulness;

give me an undivided heart,

    that I may fear your name. (Psalm 86:1-7, 10-11)

 

WHO AM I?
I am Tres Sansom, and I was basically forced to learn how to wait. Before my injury, I was the typical impatient teenage guy. However, when you lose the ability to do anything for yourself and have to rely upon others for virtually everything, you get used to waiting. Initially, this was a very frustrating thing. I had to learn that I wasn't the center of the world and that everyone else's schedule didn't revolve around me. (Imagine that!). Thankfully, over time God's grace began to wash away my impatient nature and fill me with an ability to sit and wait with contentment.