While We Wait - What We Need to Wait

Psalms 27:14 NIV 

[14] Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.14.NIV)

They say that queueing is the national sport of the British. It could be the national sport in Scotland. It would be nice to have our national sport be something that we’re actually good at.  

Queues are a fact of life here: whether it's the lines in supermarkets (gradually being reduced through automation) or the ‘take a number and take a seat’ dehumanising queues in banks or government offices, we are all quite used to waiting calmly and in a civilised fashion. Not for us the shouty, stressful scrums near glass windows as anxious, unruly people scrap for the attention of an indifferent office worker drone.  

No. That’s simply not the British way. We wait. We wait calmly. And if we are frustrated or anxious, we do what we do with the rest our emotions: we wear a stiff upper lip, we push them down and then we complain bitterly about it later to anyone who’ll listen. 

It’s time to be honest and frank: no-one likes waiting. That’s why there is such a roaring trade in ‘skip the line’ tickets and tours and Priority Access passes. Although it's ironic when so many people buy them that the priority access queues are longer...

But there are times in all of our lives when, no matter how powerful or privileged we are, we have to wait. We can’t bribe or bluff or bravado our way out of it. 

We are stuck. We cannot move forward. Life appears to have our foot in a trap. We are powerless. 

This series is for those of us who find ourselves in that position. 

It isn’t nice. It hurts. Really hurts. 

And those who are in this situation badly need encouragement for the wait. 

I hope I can bring you that encouragement during the next series of posts. It will take us through the Psalms – the ancient hymnbook of the Jews that contains more than just theology set to music, it also contains the psalmists’ real and unfiltered struggles with life. It will then take us through Lamentations and Habakkuk and into the New Testament, before we move into my Christmas series on the songs of Christmas and how a centuries-long wait met its fulfilment. 

But we begin our series here, in Psalm 27, with a look, firstly, at Confidence in Waiting. 

Confidence in Waiting 

Psalms 27:1-3 NIV 

[1] The Lord is my light and my salvation— whom shall I fear? The Lord is the stronghold of my life— of whom shall I be afraid? [2] When the wicked advance against me to devour me, it is my enemies and my foes who will stumble and fall. [3] Though an army besiege me, my heart will not fear; though war break out against me, even then I will be confident. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.1-3.NIV)

My father used to work for the railways. It used to be an in-joke in my family that the trains were never early, they were just twenty-three hours and fifty-nine minutes late.

But they had a timetable. There may have been jokes about it being written by Hans Cristian Andersen as a work of fiction, or more aspirational than a promise, but the reality was that, more or less, the trains came and left on time. There was a piece of paper that told us when it would happen. We could mostly rely on it. And so if we ever had to wait, we could wait with genuine expectation that a train would come. 

One of the big cultural adjustments I had to make when riding Romanian maxi-taxis, or Filipino jeepneys, is the total lack of a timetable. They more or less come and go as they please. If they didn’t seen to be turning up and you needed to get somewhere urgently, your anxiety would start to rise. 

One of the aspects of waiting that makes it easier is the level of confidence that the thing you need to happen is going to happen when you need it. When we lack that confidence, we start to feel anxious and begin to worry. 

Yet David here doesn’t feel any of that anxiety at all. He needs God to come to his aid, seemingly to fix a situation with his enemies, yet he is unafraid.  

Look at the three things he is not afraid of: 

• The wicked 

• His enemies 

• War 

These would be enough to make any of us tremble in fear. 

Yet he is not afraid? 

Why? 

Because David said that God means three things to him. He is David’s: 

Light.  

This picture speaks not just of God lighting up the dark places in our lives and those of others, it also speaks of His purity and integrity. As John wrote:

1 John 1:5 NIV 

[5] This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/1jn.1.5.NIV)

In other words, David can trust God because He has no shadows of ulterior or hidden motives. 

Salvation. 

This is a very interesting turn of phrase. David doesn’t say that God provides a means of his salvation, he said that God Himself is his salvation. In other words, salvation is not just something God does, it is who God is: salvation is an expression of His very essence and nature.  

As Isaiah later prophesied: 

Isaiah 12:2 NIV 

[2] Surely God is my salvation; I will trust and not be afraid. The Lord, the Lord himself, is my strength and my defense; he has become my salvation.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.12.2.NIV)

And Peter said: 

Acts 4:12 NIV 

[12] Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to mankind by which we must be saved.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/act.4.12.NIV)

So God doesn’t just shine a light, He is light: He is pure; He is holy; He is righteous. And He doesn’t just bring salvation, He is salvation – He is the only way by which we can and must be saved. 

Stronghold. 

God therefore becomes the One to whom David runs for safety, security and sanctuary. He trusted not just in what God does, but who He is. He trusted His character as much as His mighty acts. 

Because of that, David was unafraid of attacks. He could be patient and wait, not just because of what God can do, but because of who He is. 

Life can be hard. It can feel like we are besieged  and under attack. It’s really hard to wait for situations to change and for life to become simpler and more peaceful. 

What David teaches here is that trusting ourselves to blind optimism that ‘the sun will come out tomorrow’ or that somehow ‘karma’ will reverse or ‘the universe’ will right the wrong just will not cut it. We must have something more, something stronger, something more substantial. 

That something is a Someone. 

That someone is God: not just what He does, but who He is  

The truth of God is what can make us confident while we wait. 

But as well as courage while waiting, we also see Company While Waiting. 

Company While Waiting 

Psalms 27:4-6 NIV 

[4] One thing I ask from the Lord, this only do I seek: that I may dwell in the house of the Lord all the days of my life, to gaze on the beauty of the Lord and to seek him in his temple. [5] For in the day of trouble he will keep me safe in his dwelling; he will hide me in the shelter of his sacred tent and set me high upon a rock. [6] Then my head will be exalted above the enemies who surround me; at his sacred tent I will sacrifice with shouts of joy; I will sing and make music to the Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.4-6.NIV)

When my wife had her recent operation, my daughter and I went with her to the hospital. 

However, we were in for a surprise. As it was day surgery, we were not allowed with her into the ward. We were told to come back after several hours and to leave here there. So while we strolled around a nearby town to take our minds off what was happening to my wife, she was lying on a bed by herself waiting on surgery. 

Now, in our modern age, it’s not so bad. We have mobile phones and perhaps tablets for company. However, I remember going into hospital one evening with a potential for surgery the next morning (which wasn’t needed after all). It had been a bit of an emergency admission, so I had nothing with me. My parents had to leave me there too as visiting time was over. 

That was a really long night. 

When we’re waiting for something to happen – whether it’s bad or good – our wait is a lot worse if we have to wait alone. 

Yet these verses are quite interesting. David is waiting on God to intervene in his situation.

It’s not at all favourable, or minor, from what we can gather from the first three verses. But David doesn’t long for God’s intervention in these verses. No, he longs for God Himself. 

Now, I have been in several situations when I really needed God to step in and help. The pressure was enormous. I could see no way out. I have to be honest and admit here that it’s very easy to seek the answered prayer and not the God who answers. It’s so easy to seek the solution and not the solver. 

That is why what David does here is so exceptional. He raises his eyes from his situation and realises that God not only brings the answer to his problems, God Himself is the answer.

And so, instead of longing just to see the defeat of his enemies, David longs for God. 

We see that desire echoed here: 

Psalms 42:1-3, 11 NIV 

[1] As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, my God. [2] My soul thirsts for God, for the living God. When can I go and meet with God? [3] My tears have been my food day and night, while people say to me all day long, “Where is your God?” 

[11] Why, my soul, are you downcast? Why so disturbed within me? Put your hope in God, for I will yet praise him, my Savior and my God. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.42.1-11.NIV)

And this is not just seeking God so we can shake His hand, get His autograph, snap a selfie and then move on. This is not a ‘meet-and-greet’. This is not ‘God-con’.

No, the word David uses in Psalm 27 brings with it the idea of residing somewhere, of living somewhere. It was even used when a bride went to live with her husband. It is not a short-term word, it is a long-term word. It signifies an enduring relationship. 

It's correctly translated as ‘to dwell’. 

David sought to dwell in the House of the Lord (which was then a tent) for three reasons: 

• To seek the Lord. Not just an answer to his prayers and longing! He came to worship God and express His relationship with God. 

• To be safe with the Lord. David sought safety in the Presence of the Lord from those who assailed him. He found that safety in God. 

• To be set high above his enemies. David recognised that God raises whom He wants to raise. He sought God knowing that God is the One who could exalt Him. 

  
  

Psalms 75:6-7 NIV 

[6] No one from the east or the west or from the desert can exalt themselves. [7] It is God who judges: He brings one down, he exalts another. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.75.6-7.NIV)

He sought this exaltation from God by giving his exaltation to God. He gained glory by giving the glory to God. 

We all wait for so many things. It’s hard to wait alone. What David tells us here is that there is something we can do while we wait: we can seek God’s company. We can make Him our priority. We can enthrone Him as our king. 

As Jesus said: 

Matthew 6:33 NIV 

[33] But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.6.33.NIV)

This is the key to patience while we wait, because we learn that God is infinitely more worthy than anything we are waiting for. He eases our fixation and obsession and makes us realise the true worth of things. 

Apart from confidence in waiting and company while waiting, we also see Comfort While Waiting. 

Comfort While Waiting 

Psalms 27:7-10 NIV 

[7] Hear my voice when I call, Lord; be merciful to me and answer me. [8] My heart says of you, “Seek his face!” Your face, Lord, I will seek. [9] Do not hide your face from me, do not turn your servant away in anger; you have been my helper. Do not reject me or forsake me, God my Savior. [10] Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.7-10.NIV)

Way back in June of this year we flew to the Philippines for my wife’s father’s funeral. Flying that distance from Scotland is normally a great experience. This time our flight was provided by God’s grace through some very generous people and booked sixteen hours before we were due to fly. 

However, not only was God looking after us by providing us with a way to be there for the funeral, He also provided us with good flights: the kind of flights that we would have been very happy with if we had booked them eleven months in advance (like we normally do). We were waiting to arrive at a place where we faced three days of wake followed by a funeral – not exactly a happy family  reunion  - but as we both sunk into the seats of the second leg of our journey (a long haul flight from Istanbul to Taipei), all three of us sighed pretty much simultaneously, ‘Ah, this is how you do it!’ 

And when our third flight was ‘Hello Kitty’ themed, it was plain the level of detail God was prepared to go to in order to make this wait a good experience for us. 

This was somewhat exceptional. In 2001, I came home from Romania to watch my dad die of Non-Hodgkins Lymphoma just two weeks later. I spent that week praying that either God would miraculously heal him or take him to be with Himself, but either way He would not prolong my dad’s suffering too long. 

He answered my prayer. 

My wife and I waited on a visa application where bureaucrats who did not know us would decide the course of our lives. God was again merciful to us. They took their decision just two weeks later and granted her a UK spouse visa. 

Waiting is not always a nice experience. Nor is it always for something nice. Sometimes it’s in a dingy waiting room to be told information you don’t want to hear. Or it’s in a sterile room with glass kiosks where you wait for someone to tell you how your life is going to be.  

Or it’s beside the bedside of a loved one you don’t want to lose. 

Waiting can be hard. And very, very painful. 

Here we see three pleas that David made to God, as well as their answer, and all are connected to how it really feels to wait for something you need so desperately. 

The first is Don’t hide your face from me. David was seeking earnestly to see God’s face. Your face reveals how you feel about things. The ability to see someone’s face is quite fundamental to building a relationship with them. David is seeking God’s face because he ia prioritising a relationship with God above all. 

Think about it: what was said about the closeness of Moses’ relationship with God? 

Exodus 33:11 NIV 

[11] The Lord would speak to Moses face to face, as one speaks to a friend. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.33.11.NIV)

David is longing first and foremost not for God to miraculously solve his problem, but for a close and intimate relationship with God. And the one thing he wants more than anything is for God to not play a kind of hide-and-seek with him. 

But God will not do that. As the Word of God says elsewhere: 

Matthew 7:7-8 NIV 

[7]  “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. [8] For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.7.7-8.NIV)

Psalms 9:10 NIV 

[10] Those who know your name trust in you, for you, Lord, have never forsaken those who seek you. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.9.10.NIV)

Isaiah 55:6-7 NIV 

[6] Seek the Lord while he may be found; call on him while he is near. [7] Let the wicked forsake their ways and the unrighteous their thoughts. Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them, and to our God, for he will freely pardon. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.55.6-7.NIV)

If you only seek a solution to your problem, then we have to be honest here: it may not always come as you want it to. God may not answer ‘Yes’. 

But the one prayer He will always answer is the prayer that earnestly seeks God first. 

God will never hide His face from such people. 

We also see David saying to God, ‘Don’t turn your servant away in anger’. 

Have you experienced this? Have you waited in a queue to receive something, got to the front of the line and discover that you’re too late? Have you ever applied for a job and waited for a response and found out that you didn’t get it? Have you ever went to a store to get something you need and found out that they don’t have any stock anymore? 

It hurts, doesn’t it? It’s frustrating. 

David fears that God might get angry and frustrated at him and turn him away. 

But God would not do that. 

Look what Jesus Himself said: 

John 6:37 NIV 

[37] All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jhn.6.37.NIV)

Even in our most tender, most sensitive moment – when we realise we have done wrong and need to repent of it – God will not reject us, as David Himself experienced: 

Psalms 51:17 NIV 

[17] My sacrifice, O God, is a broken spirit; a broken and contrite heart you, God, will not despise. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.51.17.NIV)

There are many nowadays who take a perverse pleasure in leading us on and controlling us by making us think we will get something from them, only to deny it so that they seem powerful and we seem weak. God will not do that. Not ever. When we seek Him because we need Him and want to be with Him to have a relationship with Him, God will never, ever turn away from us. 

‘Do not reject me or forsake me’. 

This is a powerful plea. It is the plea of a man who admits and knows that He is utterly dependent on God, that He could not function without Him. 

Remember from whom it came. This is King David: Israel’s greatest shepherd-warrior-king. He was known for his great victories (1 Samuel 18:7, 21:11, 29:5). He was by no means a weakling. 

Yet even this king needed God. 

Moses, another of the greatest leaders in the Bible, also said something similar: 

Exodus 33:15-16 NIV 

[15] Then Moses said to him, “If your Presence does not go with us, do not send us up from here. [16] How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.33.15-16.NIV)

Both David and Moses pleaded God to remain with them and not abandon them at a time of acute vulnerability. 

David wrote this about God: 

Psalms 27:10 NIV 

[10] Though my father and mother forsake me, the Lord will receive me. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.10.NIV)

And his earthly descendant Jesus stated this: 

Matthew 28:20 NIV 

[20] And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/mat.28.20.NIV)

Do you see it? God will never abandon us. We can absolutely rely on Him. 

So we see that David’s comfort while waiting on God was not at all based on his abilities or strength or power, but based entirely on God: His character, His power, His grace. When we find ourselves in life’s waiting room and everything seems to be out of our control, then we can take the same comfort. We might not be in control, but God is, and He will never let us down. 

Apart from confidence, company and comfort, we also see Correctness While Waiting. 

Correctness While Waiting 

Psalms 27:11-12 NIV 

[11] Teach me your way, Lord; lead me in a straight path because of my oppressors. [12] Do not turn me over to the desire of my foes, for false witnesses rise up against me, spouting malicious accusations. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.11-12.NIV)

What makes waiting all the harder is that time and responsibilities are no respecters of pain and vulnerability. Waiting is hard because we often have to make difficult, challenging decisions that can deeply affect us without knowing all the facts. Some of them even medical. 

In the past week, for example, my brother-in-law, who is recovering from a heart attack and a coronary procedure, has had to take decisions on where he will reside to remain close to a hospital, without knowing for sure how long he will need to remain there. That’s hard. Really hard. 

David here makes a decision that reverberated down through the generations. When he was under severe pressure, he sought God for wisdom. 

This is the wisest of all decisions: 

James 1:5 NIV 

[5] If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/jas.1.5.NIV)

He talks here of a straight path. 

We see this idea in multiple places in the Bible: 

Proverbs 2:12-15 NIV 

[12] Wisdom will save you from the ways of wicked men, from men whose words are perverse, [13] who have left the straight paths to walk in dark ways, [14] who delight in doing wrong and rejoice in the perverseness of evil, [15] whose paths are crooked and who are devious in their ways. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.2.12-15.NIV)

Proverbs 3:5-6 NIV 

[5] Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; [6] in all your ways submit to him, and he will make your paths straight. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.3.5-6.NIV)

Proverbs 4:11 NIV 

[11] I instruct you in the way of wisdom and lead you along straight paths. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.4.11.NIV)

Proverbs 11:5 NIV 

[5] The righteousness of the blameless makes their paths straight, but the wicked are brought down by their own wickedness. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/pro.11.5.NIV)

Isaiah 40:3-5 NIV 

[3] A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord; make straight in the desert a highway for our God. [4] Every valley shall be raised up, every mountain and hill made low; the rough ground shall become level, the rugged places a plain. [5] And the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all people will see it together. For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/isa.40.3-5.NIV)

The Bible uses this image because the Hebrew word for ‘straight’ also encompasses moral uprightness. A straight path is one that is honest and lacks deviousness or hidden intentions. David is looking for God to guide him in the right and upright way to get through his problems.  

This would require moral courage from him. Often the straight way is not the most direct way out of issues. One of the biggest temptations when we are suffering is to take a shortcut, but one that would involve compromise. David here seeks God’s guidance to avoid that completely. 

The reason for his seeking God’s help was because his enemies were looking to send him down a scurrilous path, where they would trap him into making a moral error and then use this to tarnish his reputation. David perceives the pressure. He feels it. But instead of giving in, he turns it into prayer to God. 

Back when I was a missionary, my colleague, who became my boss, was driving across an international border with a bus full of young foreign missionaries. The border guard cane to the door of the bus. She politely asked him how long it would take to clear everyone through immigration and customs. 

The border guard smiled and told her, ‘Well, that depends on how much money your foreigners have in their passports.’ 

My colleague, a flame-haired Liverpudlian, let the border guard know in no uncertain terms what she thought of that: ‘Listen: we are not paying a bribe, okay?’ she snapped.  

The chastened border guard toddled back to his boss with his tail between his legs. 

They cleared the border in less than 30 minutes. 

There are always unscrupulous people looking to take advantage of the impatient to gain a fast buck. Do not give into them. Wait on God and you will see that you will get what you need and leave with your head held high. 

Apart from confidence, company, comfort and correctness, we see finally Courage While Waiting. 

Courage While Waiting 

Psalms 27:13-14 NIV 

[13] I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. [14] Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.13-14.NIV)

In early January 2000, I arrived back in Romania. It was a freezing cold day and the second of my flights had just touched down at Bucharest Otopeni airport. Back then (it’s changed now) I had to get a bus from their airport to Union Square (Piața Unirii) and then a metro train to Bucharest North train station. 

So there I stood, outside the airport terminal building, with one large rucksack and one small one, waiting on the bus. 

It was then that a taxi driver tried to pull off one of the most blatant, and obvious, attempts to con a visitor that I had ever seen. 

He sidled over to the cold and weary traveller (me) and tried to tell me that there was no bus.  

Now, that might have worked on an ignorant traveller who didn’t know about the bus, but I did know. What’s more (and this is what made it even all the most obvious), I was standing at the bus stop with the bus timetable right next to me. But still this taxi driver tried to persuade me that I was waiting in vain. 

Until, of course, the bus turned up, right on time. At that point he realised that his subterfuge had failed and he slunk off, while I bought my ticket, boarded the bus and chuckled most of the way to Union Square his utter imbecility. 

We should not think that people like that have disappeared into the annals of history. It still happens. People arriving at many airports, train and bus terminals across the world can testify to the presence of some pretty sneaky taxi drivers trying to prey on the unwary and impatient. 

It’s also not the only way that some people still seek to take advantage of others. Instant gratification has always been one of the main weapons the world and the devil use to try to snare us. Whether it’s alcohol, drugs, sexual deviancy or the temptation to become corrupt and/or commit a crime, this temptation has not changed since the very beginning. 

The temptation is particularly strong if we are in an adverse situation and God seems to be delaying in turning it around. 

It’s giving in to that very sin that caused Abraham and Sarah to abuse the power they had over her maidservant and create the line that led to the Arab race (Genesis 16:1-4).

It’s giving in to that very temptation that caused Saul to lose the kingship (1 Samuel 13:1-14).  

It’s giving into that very temptation that caused David to sleep with Bathsheba and put his entire kingdom on the line (2 Samuel 11). 

It is a very potent, and very destructive, temptation. 

Which is why David preaches to himself to avoid it. 

He simply gives himself three pieces of advice:

• Be strong – in other words, be resolute and resistant. Stand up and be counted. 

• Be courageous – don’t be cowed by those who are impatient or impetuous. Set out your stall and stick to it with determination. 

• Be expectant – know in your heart that God will come to your aid and wait on Him. 

There is a game show called ‘Deal or No Deal’ which has become massive across the globe. In it, a dealer tries to dissuade bidders from bidding for a potential big prize in a box by offering cash for it instead. That is often what happens when we find ourselves waiting on God. The world and the devil delight to tempt us to surrender the promises of God in exchange for immediate gratification.

We know what waits for us if we wait on God. May we never be dissuaded from it by the cheap thrills of the world. 

Because with God the wait is always worth it. 

Conclusion 

Psalms 27:14 NIV 

[14] Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/psa.27.14.NIV)

When I first heard the phrase ‘wait on the Lord’, I thought it meant something to do with prayer. I thought it was an invitation to spend time with God in the quiet and wait for an answer. 

Never did I ever imagine that it actually meant to wait on the Lord. 

Had I done that, I would likely have missed a lot of the mistakes that I made growing up. 

Sometimes this is easy for us. Sometimes it’s not. Sometimes it feels like the missionary I once met, who was waiting for a bus in St Petersburg, Russia, when the temperature outside was -25 degrees Celsius. He admitted to me that he honestly thought he was going to freeze to death before the bus came. 

What makes the wait more painful is a combination of our perception of our need and our perception of the thing for which we are waiting. If we perceive the thing for which we are waiting as being very important or critical for us, then it’s very easy to obsess over it until it becomes an idol for us – more important for us than God. 

And that is where our life becomes intolerably difficult. 

Think about what happened when tbe Israelites left Egypt. They had seen God perform mighty and awesome miracles to set them free. They were truly privileged. Yet as soon as they were in a difficult situation in the desert, this happened: 

Exodus 16:2 NIV 

[2] In the desert the whole community grumbled against Moses and Aaron.  

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.16.2.NIV)

And what was it they complained about? 

Exodus 16:3 NIV 

[3] The Israelites said to them, “If only we had died by the Lord’s hand in Egypt! There we sat around pots of meat and ate all the food we wanted, but you have brought us out into this desert to starve this entire assembly to death.” 

(Read the full passage at: https://bible.com/bible/111/exo.16.3.NIV)

And it happened time after time after time. They were not waiting on God, they were waiting on comfort and food and drink. They were waiting on themselves. So when these things did not come fast enough for their liking, they complained. 

So as we embark on this series, we have to start by asking ourselves a really challenging question: what are you waiting on? Is it God’s blessings, or is God Himself? 

David needed God to intervene to change his situation. That much is plain. But what David longed for most of all was God. That was why David found confidence, company, comfort, correctness and courage. His focus was on God first and foremost, above all. He knew God would fulfil that hunger and thirst first of all. 

Many of us are waiting for so many things right now: jobs, finances, healing, blessings, results. Those waits can be painful. 

But if we seek God first of all and wait on Him, He promises that our waiting will always be worth it. 

Prayer 

Lord Jesus, help me to learn from this ancient psalm that first of all I should long for and wait on You. You will not let me down. You will give me what I need. But most of all, I need You. Amen. 

Questions for Contemplation 

• What does it mean to ‘wait on the Lord’? What does it not mean? 

• What brought David confidence, company, comfort, correctness and courage while he waited? Why are these things important? 

• What are you waiting for? How had this psalm helped you while you wait?