Waiting
The psalmist in Psalm 42 talks about his desperate longing for God. He describes it as a desperate need, similar to the deer longing for streams of water. Imagine a dry and parched land where there is no water, and an animal searching desperately for sources of water that will determine its survival or death. That is a distressed search. It is a craving. It is a search that the animal will continue and not give up on. The deer pants for water, just as the psalmist pants for God.
Have you ever felt this way, searching for God? Searching for His deliverance from enemies, from situations, from circumstances that are beyond control and you need His immediate intervention? Remember the feeling? Did it match the panting of the deer?
Sometimes we find ourselves embroiled in things that seem beyond our ability to resolve. Like my pastor said on Sunday, “when our backs are against the wall, and it looks as if it is over!” Those times. Remember the agony of waiting for a change? Waiting for God to show up? Anticipating His moves but not being sure exactly how He’s going to do it? That is where I am today.
I have no doubt He will show up. The deer will find water and its thirst will be quenched, but where and how? And most importantly, when? It appears that waiting is a major life skill that we need to acquire, especially as Christians. Because God moves according to His own programme and appointed times. There are times and seasons for everything under heaven. We even have our personal times and seasons. Sometimes, waiting is such a pain. It can be irksome. But the Bible says we obtain through faith and patience. So in our waiting, we must be patient. That is easy to say, but hard to practice. Which brings me to where I am today.
Today, I am longing for God like the deer pants for water. I am panting. I am not patient. But I must calm down, and put on patience as a cloak. Because nothing will come from my agitation. I do the only thing I can. I cry out to God. O Lord, how long?
When my back is against the wall, He makes a way. I don’t need to know how He will do it. He is faithful enough to show up. His timing may not be mine. But He is never too late and never too early. He is always on time. At the appointed time, He will show up for me. That is my consolation today and my hope.
How are you coping in your wait? If there’s one thing the whole world is waiting for, it is the end of the current pandemic. I read a news item on the internet today titled “When will it be safe to stop wearing masks?” Aren’t we all tired of masks, handwashing, social distancing and no gatherings? Yet, we have to wait. We have this assurance that in the fullness of time, we will have what we have waited for and we will rejoice triumphantly!
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 NLT