I waited patiently for the Lord; He inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the desolate pit, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” Psalm 40:1-2

“In Hebrew, the root of the word “waits” means to bind together, perhaps by twisting. This gives us new insight into how we might wait for the Lord: by binding together our anxieties, fears, and wild imaginative thoughts. Deep breathing helps in this process, enabling us to move beyond what is troubling us and un-bind, un-wind and become centered. Breathe in God, breathe out (name it) anxiety. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin writes eloquently about this kind of waiting:

“Above all trust in the slow work of God. We are quite naturally impatient in everything to reach the end without delay. We should like to skip the intermediate stages… Only God could say what this new spirit gradually forming within you will be. Give our Lord the benefit of believing that his hand is leading you and accept the anxiety of feeling yourself in suspense and incomplete.”

What a challenge, to accept the acute anxiety of feeling “in suspense and incomplete.” But isn’t that the only way through a situation, to live into it rather than try to escape it?  Perhaps the psalmist remembers being able to do that and can say from experience, that the Lord “set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure.” (Margaret W. Jones, explorefaith.org, Signposts – Daily Devotions, “Binding Together”)

Trust in the slow work of G-d. Now, that goes against our natural inclination to appreciate speed and expect quick service. It seems to me that most restaurants are seeking more and more ways to reduce our waiting time. If you wish, you can call the restaurant and place your order, before you leave the house to pick it up. Or you can call in an order and they will deliver it to your home so you never need to change out of your pajamas. And if it does not come within thirty minutes, your meal is free. Let me ask you, is quicker always better? I may not be a chef, but I would assume that there is no way to cook a steak any quicker than putting it on the stove, or grill, or in the broiler for a specific amount of time. To get a steak quicker would mean it was “pre-cooked” and reheated to be placed on your plate. Quicker, is not always better.

There is no way to pressure G-d to work any quicker in our lives than what G-d is willing to work. G-d is G-d – we are not – and no pleading or shouting will change G-d and G-d’s plans. G-d will hear our cries, and be alert to our laments, but G-d will choose to act when, if and how G-d chooses. One thing we can take comfort in is this: G-d always hears us – G-d is always available for a conversation – and G-d will walk with us in that slow, steady walk that is our faith.

Pastor Dave

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in his word I hope;
My soul waits for the Lord More than watchmen for the morning
More than watchmen for the morning.” Psalm 130:5-6

“What does it mean to wait for the Lord? We all know what it is like to wait, and not just for things like airplanes or traffic signals. It seems to me that one of the hardest waiting periods is when we wait for medical reports, for ourselves or for people we love. When I first wrote this, I was waiting for a medical report myself, so I had the perspective of real anxiety, not just anxiety as a concept. I was not waiting very well. My anxiety, while perfectly natural, showed me that I was waiting for the report from the doctor, not for the Lord! Once told that I had a minor problem, my anxiety vanished. I was very, very thankful to God, because I had felt God’s presence with me through this experience, but I realized that I needed to develop a deeper sense of waiting for the Lord in my daily life.

This psalmist expresses waiting as longing, almost as aching. The deep longing is not for a different condition, but for a powerful awareness of God’s loving presence in the midst of waiting. That is what I want to change about the quality of my waiting: that I ask first to realize that God is with me, has been all along, and then ask for a good report, or good result, or whatever I am worried about. It is not an easy shift, but it is one I want to make, and make consciously, beginning now. (Margaret W. Jones, explorefaith.org, Signposts – Daily Devotions, “Waiting For God”)

Waiting is going to be a theme for the next few devotions. We do not wait very well – we have a problem with the phrase “good things come to those who wait”. We would rather hear that good things come to those who grasp and hoard whatever they can get their hands on immediately. However, one area of our lives where we are forced to wait is in the area of healthcare. We often have to wait to see a specialist – to receive lab reports – to be seen by a doctor in the Emergency Room. And there is nothing we can do to speed up those experiences – yelling, crying, screaming will not make a lab report appear more quickly. So, perhaps we can learn something from the healthcare experience – that waiting brings answers, brings clarity, and brings promise. No, the news will not always be “good news” once we have waited so long – but the “good news” of Jesus is always good – and always worth the wait.

Pastor Dave