Waiting Patiently for the Lord
Updated: Sep 28, 2022
"I waited patiently for the Lord;
He turned to me and heard my cry."
Psalm 40:1
In all honesty, sometimes it's hard to wait patiently for the Lord. Life can be crushing. Our worries and stresses can weigh us down...pulling us into a pit of despair. John Milton spoke about this in Pilgrim's Progress. He wrote we can be trapped in a slough of despondency. We can feel so beaten down we might be tempted to believe we will never be okay again.
But there is hope. We can be delivered. God wants us to walk in freedom. He does not want us to be caught in the slimy pit. He wants our feet to be planted firmly upon Him. He wants us to wait patiently for Him alone. There is no other deliverer apart from God. He alone can rescue us.
"He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
Out of the mud and mire;
He set my feet on a rock
And gave me a firm place to stand."
Psalm 40:2
Hiking up the side of a mountain near my home, the air was crisp and the view was magnificent. Somehow the view from the top put life into perspective. Problems seem smaller.
"He put a new song in my mouth,
A hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear
And put their trust in the Lord."
Psalm 40:3
Jesus is first, pre-eminent. He holds all things together. By Him all things consist. He is the glue that holds the Cosmos together. “He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together.” Colossians 1:17
Jesus is from all eternity. Before anything existed, God existed. When Christ was on the cross, and darkness covered the earth for three hours, did the darkness have anything to do with the fact that the Lord of life was dying? All things are held together by Him… so I wonder...was creation responding to His distress?
“He is before all things, and by Him all things hold together " is a comforting Scripture because as God holds the universe together, we can trust Him to hold our lives together.
The one who orchestrates the movements of the heavenly bodies can easily watch over and sustain us. When all seems like chaos, look to Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith. He can be trusted. God will never leave you or forsake you. He loves you. Blessings, Beloved of God.