“I wait for the Lord; my soul waits, and in his word I hope.”
Psalm 130:5
Waiting is hard. We want answers, and we want them now.
My wife says that God is always on time, but He is never early. There is a lot of truth in that, or at least there has been in our lives. Often, when my wife and I are waiting for doors to open or guidance, it happens, but not when we want it.
Of course, if it happened when we wanted it, we would not have to trust in Him. We would not have to lean on Him.
As important as that is, this verse is talking about a different kind of waiting. This verse isn’t talking about a nervous waiting; it is talking about an expectant waiting. An excited waiting for God’s forgiveness, love, and redemption.
Think of it in the following way. There is a type of waiting that occurs when we are waiting to hear how much a new transmission will cost. There is another kind of waiting when we are waiting to hear if we got the job we want. Those are not the type of waiting in this verse.
This is more akin to the waiting that happens when we have been separated from our spouse for an extended period, and we are waiting to see them. There is an excitement, a longing.
We should long for God.
When I was younger, I felt like I was taught to fear God. In my mind, He was like the playground yard duty, just watching and waiting for me to do something wrong.
But that isn’t God. There are several reasons why the metaphor of marriage is used in Scripture for our corporate and individual relationships with God. Let’s try replacing ‘the Lord’ with ‘my Love’ in this verse.
“I wait for my Love; my soul waits, and in their word I hope.”
I think that gets at the fuller sense of this verse. We should take pleasure in God. We should long for him. He is our hope in a real and personal way.
A Quote to Consider:
“Forgiveness is the subtle thread that binds together both love and friendship.”
–George Foreman
If you have ever been in a long romantic relationship or friendship, you have been hurt. If you have a family, you have been hurt.
Don’t forget, though, you have also certainly done some hurting.
We have an impressive ability to hurt those whom we care most about. It is actually kind of depressing.
No relationship will last if we are not able to forgive. We have to forgive those who hurt us, and we also have to forgive ourselves for hurting them.
If someone is truly our friend and truly a person we love. We must forgive.
Relationships require give-and-take, and forgiveness binds us together.
Prayer:
Lord,
Teach me to wait for You with hope and longing, not fear. Shape me through Your presence and Your word, forgive me, and enable me to forgive others.
Amen.
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