Waiting
Make me to know Your ways, O LORD; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for you I wait all the day long. Remember Your mercy, O LORD, and Your steadfast love, for they have been from of old.
We are used to waiting. Sometimes we may enjoy waiting if the wait is for something good. At other times, waiting is tedious and perhaps worrisome, but that doesn't change the fact we have to wait for an anticipated vacation or visitor, for appointments, in line at a store, or through anxious hours at a hospital bedside. Although we are accustomed to waiting, we may be somewhat less patient when it comes to waiting for the Lord. We expect answers and action right now, forgetting that God's timeline and ours may not be the same.
The psalms speak of our need to wait. "Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!" (Psalm 27:14). "Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for Him" (Psalm 37:7a). The psalms also remind us of the Lord's timing in comparison to our own: "For a thousand years in Your sight are but as yesterday when it is past, or as a watch in the night" (Psalm 90:4). Our psalm for today expresses the longing we may feel as we expect God to act: "For you I wait all day long."
God's people have always waited. God promised to send His Anointed One, the Messiah. He called Abraham to be the father of the nation into which the Messiah would be born. But even Abraham had to wait in faith, "not having received the things promised, but having seen them and greeted them from afar" (Hebrews 11:13b). Many generations later, the promise was fulfilled, and the Messiah was born in Bethlehem. During His earthly ministry, Jesus the Messiah waited, too. The Gospel of John repeatedly reports, "His hour had not yet come" (John 7:30b).
Finally, the hour came. God's promises "from of old" were fulfilled. Jesus was crucified, offered up as the perfect sacrifice for the sins of the world. His body was taken down and buried in a borrowed tomb. Not yet understanding Jesus' promise to rise, the disciples hid in fear, waiting to be arrested and killed as their Lord had been. But theirs was a short wait, just three days, for on the third day, the first Easter morning, Jesus rose from the dead as He had promised. With Him rose the sure and certain promise of our resurrection to life on the Last Day.
As we wait for Jesus' return and the day of our resurrection, we learn His ways and will in the truths of His Word. He leads us by the Holy Spirit to walk in His paths. We know that we can trust in His mercy and His steadfast love that "have been from of old." We eagerly wait for our Savior "all the day long," and while we wait, we pray, "Come, Lord Jesus!"
Lord Jesus, comfort us with Your Word in all circumstances of anxious waiting. Fill us with hope and the certain knowledge that You always keep Your promises. Come quickly, Lord! Amen.
Dr. Carol Geisler
Reflection Questions:
1. Do you rely on the advice or wisdom of others, or do you prefer your own experience as a guide, in most cases?Use these devotions in your newsletter and bulletin! Used by permission; all rights reserved by the Int'l LLL (LHM).
2. What's one path that God might have for us to learn and follow?
3. How good are you with waiting for something to happen? What makes you most impatient in life?
We are used to waiting. Sometimes we may enjoy waiting if the wait is for something good.
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