I’m not good at waiting. At least I’m not good at waiting once I feel
that it’s time to go or time to do something.
I don’t think that’s unusual, though.
Many of us feel that action is better than waiting. We speak proverbs: “You have to strike while the iron is
hot.” “A stitch, in time, saves
nine.” “Time and tide wait for no
man.” “Don’t just stand there! Do something!”
Psalm 27 runs counter this worldly
wisdom. It says, “Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your
heart take courage; wait for the LORD!”
This passage parallel’s the theme of Hebrews,
“Let us fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith, who for
the joy set before him endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at
the right hand of the throne of God.” (12:2
NIV) Set your eyes and thoughts on what
God has done. He has rescued us from our
sin, and blessed us with grace upon grace.
When we think of Him and all that He does and did for us, we can very
quickly come to the same conclusion as King David did, “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?”
No wonder he feels that he can wait for the LORD! No wonder we can feel comfortable waiting for
Him as well!
Yet in our sinful nature it can be really
hard to wait. Our anxiety rises. Doubt creeps into our thoughts. There is always that little, “but...,” that
lives in the back of our brains, ready to step forward to negate whatever is
going on: “I know God is good, but
….”
That anxiety is reflected in this psalm
too. “Hear, O LORD, when I cry aloud; be
gracious to me and answer me!” (v. 7) Don’t hide your face from me. Don’t turn me away in anger. Don’t cast me off. Don’t forsake me like my parents have. Don’t give me over to my adversaries.
It is good to see the mix of confidence and
doubt that is in this psalm. It is very
human to be mixed up like this. On the
one hand we are bold and confident. On
the other we obsess and worry. Sometimes
we tell ourselves to take courage because, in reality, our hearts are
fearful. We are doing exactly what this
psalm says, “let your heart take courage.”
I would translate that phrase, “make your heart strong.”
How do we make our hearts strong?
We turn to God’s Word – including Psalms –
and hear God’s promises. He works
through the Word. He strengthens our
hearts and fills us with His Spirit. We
gather for worship in the House of the LORD where we dwell in His presence and behold
the beauty of His face in Baptism, the Lord’s Supper, absolution, and the
proclamation of Jesus, crucified, risen, and coming again. And in response to Him we sing and “make
melody” to praise God.
As God does His work in us He builds the
confidence in us that, “I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!” We will experience His blessings in this life
and after our resurrection when we will dwell in God’s “tent” forever.
Father in Heaven, help me learn to wait for You. Make me confident in all that You have done
for me, especially in giving Jesus to save me from my sin. Strengthen me with Your Holy Spirit. Amen.
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