I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for morning, more than watchmen for the morning.  Psalms 130:5-6

Antsy. I can't sit still. I fidget twisting and turning in the padded folding chair. Uncomfortable. Confined. Trapped. Sitting. Waiting. Waiting for my outpatient to wake up. Waiting so we can go home.
Just like a night watchman waits for the sun to come up signaling the end of his shift, all is well, and its time to go home, I was waiting for the eyes of my loved one to open signaling that the surgery was over, he was okay and we could go home.

I don’t know about you but I don’t always wait well. I am good with waiting when it is on my terms, but I am terrible at it when it is on someone else’s terms.

It’s hard to wait. We find ourselves anxiously waiting for so many things.  A job promotion. Wayward children. Pregnancy. Adoption.  Grandchildren. Repairmen. Test results. Healing. Home ownership. Retirement. Sleep. Friends. Acceptance. Recognition.

Psalms 130:5 holds a key to waiting.  You see, most of the time when we are queued up and waiting we fidget, anxious for the outcome. Anxious for resolution. Anxious that it will work out for the best. Anxious because of the unknown. Anxious because we are not in control. The writer in Psalms says there is a different way to wait.

In Psalms 130:5-6 he states that he waits, but that when he waits, he waits for the Lord, not the outcome. His waiting is on God, not the result. He is watching for what God is going to do, not on how things are going to turn out. His hope is in what God has promised. He is trusting the unknown to the One he knows. The writer knows that God has promised He will provide for us (I Timothy 6:17). He will protect us (Psalms 91:14). He is with us (Joshua 1:9). He will do what is best for us (Romans 8:28).

Psalms 42:5 states it this way, “Why are you cast down, O my soul, and why are you in turmoil within me? Hope in God; for I shall again praise him, my salvation.

Just as a watchman waits knowing the sun will rise and his shift will end, we can wait knowing that somewhere in the midst of our circumstances we will see the goodness of the Lord because that is what He promised and eventually all waiting comes to an end. 

Take a Closer Look

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Psalms 27:13

My whirlwind week of activities is finally coming to a close. From seminary graduation, mother’s day, my birthday, my wedding anniversary to high school graduation my life has been spinning from one activity to another. Each one should be fully celebrated in its own right but with the every other day arrival of a new celebration they have mixed together like a tossed salad. Each piece uniquely recognizable, but not allowed to stand on its own. Within the midst of this chaos I have been reminded of how good God has been to me even during the times I felt overwhelmed and disappointed.

You see,  so often our circumstances drain the joy out of our life experiences like the plug being pulled from a bathtub drain. We start out full of expectations and hope and end up cold, shivering, and empty. What we envisioned doesn’t materialize and we find ourselves disappointed and disillusioned.

What I want my life to be is not always the reality of what my life is-because life is not easy.  

Life is hard. Marriage is hard. Raising children is hard. Elderly parents are hard. Aging is hard. Finances are hard. Relationships are hard. Life is hard, but Psalms 27:11-14 tells us there is hope.

There is hope even in the midst of enemies.
There is hope that gives us strength and courage.
There is hope not just in the future but in today.
There is hope because He is our hope.

Our hope is not in our circumstances but in the God of all creation. The one who made us holds us in his hand. He watches over us. He guides us. He provides for us. He loves us.

His end game is the game plan that wins.

I deeply want to play the game of life God’s way. I want to be able to say in the end that the Lord is good, no matter what. I want to see the bigger picture. The bigger plan. The bigger outcome. I want my life to have a bigger meaning than just making it through one more day. I want to see the goodness of the Lord now as well as later.

Lamentations 3:25-26 states “The Lord is good to those who wait on him, to the soul who seeks him. It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”

Sometimes I need to stop and look to find the goodness of the Lord around me. Life may be hard, but in the middle of the struggle God is doing something good within me and around me if I open my eyes and heart to see it.

Today I am going to try to focus on God’s goodness instead of my disappointments because circumstances warrant a closer look. 

“Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage, wait for the Lord.” Psalm 27:14 
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