And now, O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you.
Psalm 39:7
I’ve never been very good at waiting, just ask my wife. I tend to want to see things happen right now, on my schedule – at least that’s my expectation. So if we say we’re going to meet at 3 PM, I’ll be waiting for you at 3, not 3:05. Aaron Sutton tells me that’s just the German in me and I need to learn to chill! He’s probably right! And I have tried. “Patience,” people remind me, “is a virtue.” But not only that, it’s also the Spirit’s fruit in our lives. So I’m trying to learn to be more like Him and not get quite so uptight when things don’t go my way.
I thought I was making progress, until 2020 happened (the year almost nothing has gone our way!) I have made and cancelled plans more times than I can count – trips we hoped to take, doctor’s appointments, conferences, meetings, etc. It’s impacted nearly every aspect of my life. It’s impacted our life together as a church. I can feel my old enemy, impatience, gaining ground on me as I’m tempted to shout. “I want my schedule back and I want it now!”
I was thinking about that when I came upon Psalm 39:7 where the Psalmist asks, “And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?” Or as I might paraphrase it, “Why am I having to wait? Why can’t I just get on with my life and schedule the way I want? Why have you made me live through this crazy year?” And then the answer comes: “So I might learn once again that my hope is in the Lord.”
Hope, by it’s very nature yearns for what does not yet appear (Rm 8:24). We hope for what we don’t have but trust God to give one day give as He has promised! One implication of this is that there are times God will take away the things we depend on – like neat schedules under our control – so we have to wait for Him to come through as promised. I get tired of waiting, but I know that God is faithful and sovereign. And I know He has set me in this place at this time so I can learn to depend on Him! “So Lord, as I wait, let me hope is You!”
Sometimes waiting is the hardest part, but God is faithful!
Pastor S. Scott Lee