February 3, 2023 — “When God Waits, There is Always a Good Reason”

“Wait for the Lord, and keep to his way, and he will exalt you to inherit the land; you will look on the destruction of the wicked. I have seen the wicked oppressing, and towering like a cedar of Lebanon.Again I passed by, and they were no more; though I sought them, they could not be found.Mark the blameless, and behold the upright, for there is posterity for the peaceable. But transgressors shall be altogether destroyed; the posterity of the wicked shall be cut off. The salvation of the righteous is from the Lord; he is their refuge in the time of trouble. The Lord helps them and rescues them; he rescues them from the wicked, and saves them, because they take refuge in him.” Psalm 37:34-40

“Wait on the Lord, and keep his way. This is the true mode of

waiting on God which the Scripture recommends; keeping God’s way– using all his ordinances, and living in the spirit of obedience.” (Adam Clarke Commentary)

We all can work, we all can focus for a time, we all can handle more than one thing at a time. But can we all wait patiently? I am someone who struggles with waiting patiently. If I am standing in a line to order a coffee and the people in front of me are thinking and talking instead of ordering, it upsets me. “I have places to be”, I think to myself. “Don’t they realize I am in a hurry?”, I mumble under my breath. Too much of society is in a rush to get nowhere – and they are waiting to trample over whomever might get in their way.

“Wait for the Lord, and keep His way”, the Psalmist says. The people in Egypt possibly wondered why the Lord waited so long before rescuing them from their burdens under Pharaoh. They most likely wondered why – and determined that there must be some good reason for the Lord to seemingly forget their plight. When G-d waits, there is always a good reason. Moses needed time to develop his character to be a good leader. Pharaoh needed to wait for his heart to harden enough to push the Lord to act.

Let us pray: Dear G-d, help me to learn to have patience, and allow you to act, in your time. When I do I know I will reap the benefit of your patience. Amen

Pastor Dave