I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning (Psalm 130:6).
A few weeks ago, a tattered sheet of paper slipped out of my Bible. It was a summary of a sermon I had heard years ago. The writing had faded over the years and the paper was worn at the edges.
That scraggly note was a timely reassurance about the hope and expectation of waiting on the Lord like the night watchmen who were waiting eagerly for something that was surely coming. They had to wait through the night to get to the break of dawn. Nevertheless, they were expectant in their waiting because they had seen dawn before and they believed that the sun would surely rise - as it had the day before, and the day before that . . .
This verse spoke volumes to us. It was a heaven-sent message as we faced quite a couple of challenging uncertainties the past few weeks. It reminded us that the God who had made a way for us before could do it again. And He did!
It is easy to shout out our hallelujahs when heaven's doors are open and our prayers are being answered while we are still speaking. But when we are withered up and weary in the waiting, we have to remember the Son will shine through the darkness, that there is a new day breaking through.
Sometimes dawn comes early, but there are also many times when dawn takes a long time to come and the waiting seems endless, pointless, and even hopeless. Waiting can be angst-filled, uncertain, heart-breaking, yet we are reminded that we are not a people without hope.
Waiting is definitely not on my list of favourite things to do. There have been days that seemed endless, counting down the hours, heart wrenching with the anxiety of not being able to see beyond the unflinching darkness, flailing in the quicksand of despair.
Something that has helped me immensely during these times of waiting and wondering is having a Bible verse to hold onto. These promises of God can seems obscure and even irrational at times. But they are tangible reminders of things yet to come to pass and of the reassurance of hope that only He can give. It is like a lifeline that is thrown out into the ocean of waiting, a reassurance to cling onto when I cannot take another step of faith, a cord of hope to hold when everything else seems to be unravelling.
I usually underline the verse in my Bible and write it down in my journal, marking out the date.
Yes, there are promises and prayers that have been answered even before the ink has dried in my book and I am humbled and awed! I rejoice in the goodness and might of God!
But there are also prayers and promises I am still waiting on . . . the ink has faded away and I have lost or misplaced the journal and my hope along with it. There are promises that I have claimed and prayed and declared out loud and fasted and spoken out and written down and underlined, prayed over and over and am still praying over . . . but it didn’t quite turn out the way I thought it would or on the calendar dates I expected.
There have been and continue to be intense periods of waiting and praying and praying and waiting, grappling with questions, doubts, fears, anxieties and complaints. But I am beginning to realise my faith has been fortified, my priorities have been sifted and I am more intensely aware of what He is teaching me and correcting in me.
I am learning to trust and surrender to the plans and purposes of the Lord God Almighty. I am learning to let go and trust the One whose ways are not my ways, whose thoughts are not my thoughts, whose ways and thoughts are higher - as high as the heavens are from the earth! (Isaiah 55:8-9)
Like the Psalmist, my hope is stirred up again and I believe that I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living (Psalm 27:13). I put my trust in the One to whom even the darkness is not dark, the night shines like the day (Psalm 139:12). I am emboldened enough to say, "Lord, do it for me, once more!"
I believe with all my heart that a new day is dawning!
Photo by Ivana Cajina on Unsplash
This was really so timely and encouraging! Thanks Anna!
May He bless and lead you through!
God bless and lead you