“The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV
Reflection: do you like to wait?
Sitting at the airport waiting for the next plane. A 5 hour layover. I’m sure you have noticed too that the time can almost seem to stand still when you are waiting for something. The time waiting can sometimes seem so wasted, in a way. We just want to get on with the next thing. Whether it is the next plane, or get the help, the answers we are looking for. The whole idea of waiting is a bit strange anyway, as we live in a fast paced world. If you watch people waiting for something, in traffic, in line at the grocery store, or even for a plane, many get very antsy. Fidgety. They pull out their phones, or something, to try to make the time pass by quicker.
So what is this state of “waiting” anyway, and why is it often so hard?
We certainly have all experienced it, perhaps even daily. Waiting. The Webster dictionary defines it as “to stay in place in expectation of” So we see two things that make up this activity of waiting; 1) staying, or remaining in place, and 2) having an expectation for something. My “expectation” is for the plane to take us to the next destination. And, we have to “stay in place”, not going too far from the gate in order not to miss the plane. But, if you know that what you are waiting for, if the expectation is of something good, having to remain in place, the waiting time, is different. It can be full of anticipation. Full of excitement. You probably remember as a child, waiting for a birthday or a holiday, the anticipation and excitement building as the time grew closer. And, as a child you trusted your parents to make the time very special, perhaps even with a special gift.
What if we had the same anticipation, excitement waiting for the Lord God to do something we have been asking for?
What I mean is, when we pray, do we think it will happen, and we already get excited about it? We can envision the future, how the Lord has acted. Child-like. In the focus verse today, from Lamentations, we see this longing and waiting for the Lord. “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV. Did you notice that there are promises of blessings in waiting for the Lord? In fact, there is a calling here to “wait quietly”. There is such beauty, such strength in this. It is fully surrendering to the Lord, trusting, even knowing that God will act. In His time. The way He sees is best. It is being excited to see what He will do, as the good Father He is.
In 1978, American gospel singer Chuck Girard, released an album with a song called “Slow Down”,
“In the midst of my confusion, In my time of desperate need, When I am thinking not too clearly, A gentle voice does intercede
Slow down, slow down, be still, Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord , Slow down and hear His voice, And know that he is God
In the time of tribulation, When I am feeling so unsure, When things are pressing in about me, Comes a gentle voice, so still, so pure
Slow down, slow down, be still my child, Be still and wait, on the Spirit of the Lord, Slow down and hear His voice, And know that he is God”
Are you anxious about something? Waiting for a sign, to see a change? Perhaps He is telling you today, to slow down, to be still so that you can hear Him. And trust Him. And be excited about what He is doing, because “The Lord is good to those who wait for him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.” Lamentations 3:25-26 ESV
Let’s wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.