Sitting Tight in an Uptight World
Anyone who has spent any amount of time at the Department of Motor Vehicles knows that waiting can fray one’s nerves. We can dress it up in a variety of ways (“biding your time”, “hanging around”, “cooling your heels”, etc.) but no matter what you call it, waiting, for the most part, is hard. The amount of anxiety and frustration, however, depends largely on the anticipated results. Consider the following scenarios:
- waiting in line at a store
- waiting for an Amazon delivery
- waiting at a red light
- waiting to cross the street
- waiting for lab results
- waiting for a table at a restaurant
- waiting for a loved one’s flight to arrive
- waiting to get an oil change
In each of those scenarios, waiting is involved but the anticipation and anxiety is usually directly related to what is at the end of the required time. Receiving a package from a mail order company is quite different than getting the results back from a lab test.
We might be able to wait patiently…but that is rarely the norm: Gotta’ get it! Gotta’ see them! Gotta’ go! Gotta’ know! No matter the circumstances, one cannot change the wait time…without inviting circumstances to intervene: crossing the street without waiting can have devastating results; not waiting for a flight to come in will leave someone stranded (and someone else in hot water!); not waiting at a red light might result in a ticket or worse.
Waiting for the LORD may be difficult at times, especially when we feel He needs to act. God always acts according to His plan and according to His grace and mercy. Pay attention to what the verse above states. The Psalmist first waited patiently. The Hebrew word for wait means to “look eagerly for”. He knows for WHOM he waits. No need for fret or fear. Secondly, it says that God heard his cry for help. He was in some sort of distress and called out to the One in Whom he placed his trust, and got results! If you look at the next verse (v.2) you see what those results were:
“He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.”
Waiting patiently for the LORD requires a relationship with Him. This was not a cry for help that “struck a deal” with the Almighty — “Look, God, if you get me out of this mess I ‘promise’ I will serve you.” No. This was a cry for help to a trusted Friend.
Oswald Chambers, an early 20th Century evangelist and teacher, said that “resting in the Lord does not depend on external circumstances at all, but on your relationship to God himself.”
Do you have a relationship with God though His son Jesus Christ? Is it growing daily? Is He someone you spend time with on a daily basis — or only when you “need” Him?
We see the world in an all-time high frenzy of sin and corruption and can’t wait to see God act and do something. But wait we must. Wait for God. His mercy and love are great and His timing is perfect.
“The salvation of the righteous is from the LORD; he is their stronghold in the time of trouble.” Psalm 37:39