Day Fourteen
Waiting is hard.
We hate to wait, especially in our smartphone-at-the-ready, information-at-your-fingertips, drive-thru culture. Various studies have been done trying to figure out how much time the average person spends waiting over a lifetime in lines, on hold, and at stop lights, and the numbers range anywhere from 6 months to to 10 years depending on what country and city you live in. Even those who live on the 6-month end of the spectrum would probably report that it feels like 10 years. Because waiting is hard.
But truth be told, there are other kinds of waiting that can really put that long line at the supermarket into perspective. Waiting to hear from the doctor for test results…waiting for a decision after a job interview…waiting for news that a loved one is safe…compared to these, many of our typical experiences of delay prove to be nothing.
And then there is the very unique experience known to those who believe the promises of God: waiting for those promises to be made manifest in your specific situation. When we are waiting for God, it can be the most difficult waiting of all.
Psalm 130 is another of the “songs of ascent,” which may have been sung by Jewish pilgrims making their way to the temple in Jerusalem for one of the feast days, like the Passover which Jesus was preparing for in his final days. Biblical scholars also put it in the category of “penitential psalms” due to the powerful way it expresses sorrow for sin. It seems that as the pilgrims made their way to Jerusalem, singing their praise and declarations of God’s character and promises, they would also engage in the same kind of self-examination we are called to undertake during Lent.
As the psalmist looks into their soul, what they see tempts them to despair:
“Out of the depths I call to you, Lord!
Lord, listen to my voice;
let your ears be attentive
to my cry for help.”—Psalm 130:1-2 (CSB)
The imagery of “the depths” calls to mind another psalm, one attributed to David:
“Save me, God,
for the water has risen to my neck.
I have sunk in deep mud, and there is no footing;
I have come into deep water,
and a flood sweeps over me.
I am weary from my crying;
my throat is parched.
My eyes fail, looking for my God.”—Psalm 69:1-3 (CSB)
To be in “the depths” is to be looking for God, but to not yet see him at work in the way we expect. Sometimes the reason we’re unable to see it that our sin still blinds us, but sometimes the reason for God’s seeming delay is a mystery. Whatever the cause, the waiting is not easy. The writer of Psalm 130 compares it to the image of a weary watchman who has been holding vigil for the long, dark night and eagerly awaits the first break of dawn that will signal the end of his duties. In fact, the psalmist doesn’t just say their waiting is similar—they actually say it is even more profound than that:
“I wait for the Lord; I wait
and put my hope in his word.
I wait for the Lord
more than watchmen for the morning—
more than watchmen for the morning.”—Psalm 130:5-6 (CSB)
As much as we may not want to acknowledge it, a relationship with God sometimes involves waiting like this. Some wait for an experience of redemption that echoes this psalm, others wait for a word of guidance, or for the lifting of their spirits. There are also so many who know the long darkness of waiting to see God at work in the life of a loved one, or to see reconciliation come to a broken relationship. And in these times of waiting, the temptation to despair is great.
It is interesting that in verse 7 the language of Psalm 130 shifts. No longer singing about their own particular needs, the psalmist’s words become a call to all of God’s people:
“Israel, put your hope in the Lord.
For there is faithful love with the Lord,
and with him is redemption in abundance.
And he will redeem Israel
from all its iniquities.”—Psalm 130:7-8 (CSB)
After making their own declaration of trust in verse 5, the psalmist now calls all of God’s children to hold tight to the promises of God. Even in the darkness of the night watch, even when those promises seem far off, do not give in to despair. The goodness of God is a certainty, the actions of God will prove faithful and true when seen in morning’s light.
These are good words for us during Lent. In these days of self-reflection and brutal honesty with ourselves, we might very well find ourselves in “the depths,” especially if we are facing situations in life where it seems that God is not moving in the ways we so desperately want to see. As we offer to God during Lent our sin and our stubborn self-will, the invitation comes to us to offer into his hands something else as well: our waiting.
The secret mysteries belong to You
We only know what You reveal
And all my questions that are unresolved
Don’t change the wisdom of Your will
In every trial and loss
My hope is in the cross
Where Your compassions never fail
Read the rest of the lyrics here.
Questions for Reflection
1) Are you in a season of waiting for God right now? What are you waiting for? How can you apply the words of Psalm 130 to your own situation?
2) Read and consider/discuss this quote about waiting for God from Betsy Childs Howard. Does it ring true for you? What about these words most stands out to you?
“Waiting exposes our idols and throws a wrench into our coping mechanisms. It brings us to the end of what we can control and forces us to cry out to God. God doesn't waste our waiting. He uses it to conform us to the image of his Son.” (from “Seasons of Waiting: Walking by Faith When Dreams Are Delayed”)
3) The writer of Psalm 130 declares in verse 5: “I wait for the Lord; I wait and put my hope in his word.” What is the relationship between hope and the word of God? How has God’s word spoken to you in seasons of waiting? Spend some time in prayer giving thanks to God for his words of comfort and hope.
4) The song for today includes these words:
The secret mysteries belong to You
We only know what You reveal
And all my questions that are unresolved
Don’t change the wisdom of Your will
These lyrics describe a trust that comes from accepting that we won’t always have answers to our questions or explanations for our waiting. Yet many of us still cling to a stubborn insistence that God “owes” us answers for the difficult situations we face. Has that been something you’ve struggled with in your journey of faith? How can you offer that to God and receive the freedom that comes from relinquishing that level of control?
5) Read and reflect on this verse. Let it lead you into prayerful worship and gratitude:
“But they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run and not be weary; they shall walk and not faint.”—Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)