Psalm 13: 1, 2 How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I wrestle in my soul, with sorrow in my heart each day? How long will my enemy dominate me?
Psalm 6: 2, 3, 6 Be merciful to me, O LORD, for I am frail; heal me, O LORD, for my bones are in agony. My soul is deeply distressed. How long, O LORD, how long? I am weary from groaning; all night I flood my bed with weeping and drench my couch with tears.
The most common word for waiting in the old testament is qavah - to look patiently, to tarry, to hope, expect and look eagerly. The other words and their meanings are: yachal - to wait expectantly, hope; damam - to be still, tarry; chakah - to long for. The words used in the new testament are prosdechomai - to expect, look for and wait for, apekdechomai - to expect eagerly, and anameno - to await one whose coming is expected.
When God says 'wait', many a time we resort to three ungodly choices. (i) We think it is a no, and try to move on, (ii) we think we have to do something from our side to quicken the process, or (iii) distract ourselves altogether and not think about it, lest it worries us.
Earlier, I've advised friends to follow the third option - distracting ourselves. However, a friend responded that analogically, if he had prayed for a red ball to fall from the sky, and God replied wait, waiting was like standing on the ground and looking at the sky for a red ball to fall so that you can catch it. It is looking eagerly in the sky when no balls fall out of it, it is eagerly waiting for the red ball when yellow, pink, and brown fall. It is waiting alone when all those waiting along had already got the ball they had prayed for. It is waiting in the rain, the sun, and the night. It is continuing to wait when a new set of people are cribbing and waiting alongside you, who have no idea how long you had to wait. It is waiting eagerly each time a ball falls out, just to know that it wasn't the red ball that you were looking for. 'This one looks like a red one! Is it red?..... No, it is not'. It is waiting when others around you suggest that red balls don't exist, or that you are color blind, or that you might have missed the only red ball that God threw. It is waiting and continuing to look up when your neck aches. It is waiting when you have no idea how much longer you have to wait. It is waiting amidst doubts of whether you would ever have the strength to catch the ball if it falls or if you would just faint. Godly waiting is impossible without Godly strength.
The Biblical understanding of waiting is multi-faceted. I would like us to think about three points today. Godly waiting requires the fruit of 'long-suffering' to be displayed in us. As any gardener would know, you can't manufacture the fruit independent of the plant. The roots have to be strong, the stem, the leaves, and the flowers need to come in the due season for the fruit to manifest. Trying to be patient, without having our roots strong in the Lord, without growing in the knowledge of the goodness of God, without the filling of the Holy Spirit is pointless!
Godly waiting means 'hopeful expectation'. Let us not confuse it with wishful thinking or a state of confidence that lacks any doubt. It is going through suffering that produces perseverance; perseverance, character, and character, hope. This is the hope that does not disappoint us. This sort of waiting surely is going to be painful. But, this is the hope that Bible expects us to have. It is not hoping on the gift but on the Giver. It is not having hope in our faith but on the Faithful One who is worthy of our faith. It is not a hope based on the knowledge that we have done our part correctly but that despite our wrongdoings, through His grace He will restore to us the wasted years.
Isaiah 40:31 But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.
Godly waiting will be blessed with Godly strength. When we do not know how long we have to wait, we tend to save up our energy. But, Godly waiting requires using all your strength, in the hope of the promise that God will renew your strength. It is trusting completely in Him, even as your heart cries out, 'How long, Lord, how long?'. It is running with the last ounce of your strength, even as you see a spring of strength continuing to sustain you.
For, when that red ball falls from the skies, you won't faint.
Link to the previous article: God, why do You target me?
Link to the next article: How will I know that You'll do this for me?
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