Remember as kids how we used to look forward to special times and events? We couldn’t wait for our next birthday, each and every Christmas, the end of the school year, a planned family vacation, even finally being a grown-up. Things just couldn’t move fast enough.
But even then, some things came around way too quickly. A dentist or doctor appointment, the due date for a school project or the upcoming test, the compulsory visit with relatives we didn’t know or we thought were boring or uncool. There even came the days when we realized that even though we insisted we were growing up and couldn’t wait to be on our own, that it was approaching at lightning speed and we weren’t at all sure we were ready.
As time went on, almost everything seemed to move faster and faster. We just left high school and now we get invitations to our 10th, 25th, 50th class reunions. We couldn’t wait for our babies to walk and talk and suddenly they were in school. Once they became teenagers, it was pretty much a blur of adrenaline and exhaustion. Even so, we loved every moment.
Running underneath all of this transient, time-driven life the Word of God tells us over and over to wait on the Lord and to hope in Him. It’s really easy to interpret this from our consumeristic mindset. We want…, we need…, and we think everything must happen according to our timeframe. So, we wait and hope that He does what we want by the time we want it to happen. We wring our hands and wonder if we asked the right way or how we can facilitate the process.
The Psalms describe waiting on and hoping in the Lord as something very different. In the midst of trouble, trial, and adversity David declares that he waits and hopes in God. He is absolutely laying his trouble before Him and asking for the help and deliverance he needs, and he is waiting to see that happen. But he is also, and primarily, waiting on God’s presence, His very real and actual presence to be with him during his trouble. His hope is not just a wish that God would do this or that. His hope is the absolute confidence that God shows up and will be with him.
Psalm 130:5-6
“I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
and in His word do I hope.
My soul waits for the Lord
more than the watchmen for the morning;
indeed, more than the watchmen for the morning.”
That is a confidence based in a positive reality. Has the morning ever failed to come? The night of watching may feel like forever. It may be far longer than we expected or feel is fair. But the morning will come. For now, during the night, we count on His presence whether we think we feel it or not. We tell Him what we need. We call to mind from our collection of memories the many times that He has been faithful to us, delivered us, healed, restored, and rescued us. We thank Him for the blessings we see right in front of us. We rest in His faithfulness. We trust His love and goodness. Will the morning look exactly like we wanted? Maybe not. But He will be in it and be in control of it. His love and power and presence are as sure as the sunrise.
Psalm 27:14; Psalm 62, Psalm 130, Philippians 4:4-8
His Unfolding Grace 