Waiting for God

Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken.

Psalm 62:5

Psalm 62 begins with David’s expression of confidence in God as he waits in silence for the one who is the source of his salvation (62:1). But then, after David remembers those who seek to bring him down through slanderous lies (62:3-4), his tone changes slightly. Now he speaks to himself, literally, to his own “soul” (nefesh): “Let all that I am wait quietly before God” (62:5).

How can David expect to have peaceful silence in the midst of cacophonous attacks against him? How can he wait patiently for the Lord when, surely, his soul feels an urgent need for divine assistance? David’s quiet waiting depends on his faith in and knowledge of God. He knows the Lord to be his hope, his rock, his salvation, and his fortress. Thus, he urges his soul to rest in the confidence of God’s presence, strength, and care.

Though we might not be in precisely the same predicament as David once found himself, we all know the feeling of desperation as life turns against us. Perhaps we have just heard a dire medical report. Or maybe we fear for one of our children who has made some terrible choices. Or it might be that your boss has just let you know that you might lose your job. Or ... there are thousands of other situations that cause our pulse to race. We need God’s help ... now! Yet, often, his timing isn’t what we would prefer, and we find ourselves, like David, telling our souls to “wait quietly before God.”

To be sure, this is not easily done in times of trial. But we will find the confidence to be patient and still when we remember who God is and what he has done for us. In the safety of his strength, we can find the peace to wait.

QUESTIONS FOR REFLECTION: When have you found it difficult to wait upon God and his deliverance? What helps you to wait on him, even quietly?

PRAYER: Dear Lord, you know how difficult it can be for us to wait on you. In trying times, we want you to do something right away. Sometimes your timing can seem impossibly slow. We can even wonder if you’re there at all, or if you care for us.

In these times, help us, dear Lord, to wait upon you. Help us not just to wait, but to wait quietly, in the peace of trusting you. Remind us by your Spirit of who you are and what you have done for us. Renew us with confidence in your faithfulness. May we put our hope in you, and thus find the strength to wait. And in our waiting, please make yourself known to us in a deeper and truer way.

All praise be to you, O God, our hope, our rock, our salvation, our fortress. Amen.

Image courtesy of Laity Lodge, one of our sister programs in the Foundations for Laity Renewal.