So as I began to write about waiting I started filling up pages and decided that you probably didn’t want to read a term paper on the topic – although today’s post is quite the essay. So I’ve split it up into 3 parts. Although, the more I work on it the longer it seems to get! At any rate, here is part 2.
A few weeks ago I watched a video with a poet named Janette…ikz who spoke of waiting. (To view this video click here.) In it she references Psalm 130:5-6, which reads, “I will wait for the Lord, my souls waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than watchmen wait for the morning.” As I’ve meditated on that verse I’ve begun to view “the wait” in a different light.
Now, not to get all sermony on you (although I am ordained so it’s okay for me to preach), but here are 3 thoughts on this verse.
1. The watchmen were active in their wait.
The existence of watchmen who would stand guard around the city at night can be found in ancient civilizations. They would wait through the long night ready to sound the alarm should an enemy approach. When I think about the watchmen I picture them waiting in the dark on a moonless night. I imagine them just a little bit on edge and a little bit frightened and unsure of what was out there, but longing for the first rays of dawn. The knowledge that as soon as the first hues of (insert color here as I’m never actually up at dawn to see the sunrise) appear on the horizon their work would be over is what kept them going.
They had a job to do during the long night though. They had to remain alert in case an enemy came to surprise them in the night. Their job wasn’t simply to sit around and wait for morning. Rather they had to remain active to stay awake and alert and ready for anything.
This makes me ask – am I staying focused on the task at hand – the task the Lord has given me – or am I simply letting life pass me by today while I search the horizon for what’s ahead?
2. It is in God’s word that I will put my hope
I know too many singles whose constant hope is that they will meet the person of their dreams and fall in love and get married. Is that all you are hoping for in life? If so that’s a lot to put on your future spouse. I’ve put all my hope in this one basket – marriage. What if that’s not God’s plan for your life? Will you be okay? Will you still be able to hope for good things? Will you still be able to worship God will all that you are?
A few years back the song that we were singing all summer at our camps and programs said something along the lines of, “You’re all I need, You’re all I want.” I found myself boldly belting out that first line along with everyone else and then as I really listened to the words I realized that I couldn’t honestly sing the second phrase. God was not all I wanted. He was definitely all I needed, but not all I wanted. And to sing that would not only be a lie, but it would be like declaring that all my hopes for my future were being set aside and instead of wanting a husband and a “normal” life I would say I’ll want You, God, and only You and what You have for me. It would mean surrender on a whole new level. So for that summer I remained quiet during that song.
But God’s word is full of good things and promises – He will fill the hungry with good things. He will set the solitary into families. He will be a father to the fatherless. God is love. He will never leave you or forsake you. God is faithful.
In these things I have learned to place my hope. I have learned to surrender and have come to a place where I can now sing loudly, “You’re all I want.”
3. I will wait for the Lord
Our lives are short and eternity is, well, long! (Could I be more profound?) Someday I will stand before the Lord and will be judged according to what I did for Him, not on how well I married. Waiting upon the Lord is good, but waiting for my life to start once I get married is not. God has given me all that I need for life (2 Peter 1:3) and that may or may not include a spouse.
I will wait for the Lord’s timing. I will wait for the Lord’s direction. I will wait for the Lord to speak and to lead. I will wait for Heaven.
I will NOT waste my time here on earth waiting for a spouse. I will NOT wait for my life to have meaning. I will NOT wait to fulfill the call of God on my life. I will NOT wait for marriage for my life to begin.
I’m done waiting – I never liked it anyhow.
I will wait for you, Lord, to speak and then I will act upon that. I will stay focused on the task that you have given me throughout the long night even as I look with hope to the horizon. Amen.
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