The Waiting Place

Psalm 70

Waiting for the fish to bite, or waiting for wind to fly a kite, or waiting around for        Friday       night, 
Or waiting perhaps for their Uncle Jake, or a pot to boil, or a better break,
Or a string of pearls, or a pair of pants, or a wig with curls or another chance. 
Everyone is just waiting.—Dr. Seuss

God is never in a hurry—or so it seems. "God has His hour and delay (horas et moras)" is an old saying and true. Thus, we wait.

Waiting is hard. We twiddle our thumbs, shuffle our feet, stifle our yawns, heave long sighs and fret inwardly in frustration. Why must I live with this awkward person, this tedious job, this embarrassing behavior, this health issue that will not go away? "How come history takes such a long, long time when you're waiting for a miracle?" Bruce Cockburn asks. Why doesn't God come through? 

God's answers: “Wait awhile and see what I will do."

Waiting is one of life's best teachers for in it we learn the virtue of...well, waiting—waiting while God works in us and for us. It's in waiting that we develop endurance, the ability to trust God's love and goodness, even when things aren't going our way (70:5). 

But waiting is not dreary, tooth-clenched resignation. We can "rejoice and be glad" while we wait (70:4). We wait in hope, knowing that God will deliver us in due time—in this world or in the next. God is never in a hurry, but He's always on time.

LORD! Show mercy and be merciless to my foe my flesh;
make straight my path ignore my whimpering self-pity; 
starve my hunger until the sharp pain of raging need
becomes the dull ache of wanting now the feast that comes later. 
LORD! Show mercy and give me hope to wait. —Karen Debaghian

David Roper
3.24.17