Book Excerpt # 24 The Waiting Time

44.  The Waiting Time

“I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits, and in his word I put my hope. I wait for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning, more than the watchmen wait for the morning.” (Psalm 130: 5-6) 

These verses challenge me. Often I am waiting for the Lord, but I am waiting for him to do what I want. The years stretch on and many of my wants remain. 

Waiting is not an inactive time, although it involves stopping and surrendering my plans, allowing God to work. I am to wait “more than watchmen wait for the morning.” 

At night watchmen guarded ancient cities from atop fortress walls, alert to any potential havoc from invaders. Other watchmen inside the walls worked to keep the city safe. Morning’s light bathed many areas out of darkness, lessening some dangers. 

The Lord is a watchman for me. When He says, Wait, it is for my own protection. He sees what I cannot see. My waiting times can seem as darkness with no certainty shed on the way ahead. It takes soulful trust as I remain stationary. It is a time to hold tight to the Holy Spirit who can help ward off shadows of discouragement and impatience. 

My task in waiting is to place my hope and trust in the Lord and not hurry ahead of him. He watches for the right time to pull me out of the dark and into the morning light of his plans. He knows when I am ready to pursue them. He has prepared the way. 

There is also the perspective of time that helps me appreciate the wisdom of the ways God has guided me. This fuller clarity helps me understand how some of my choices could have been the wrong ones. I perceive anew the occasions when God grabbed me out of harm’s way because I was not careful in heeding his warning signs. Such protection and his watchful care is worthy of thanks and praise.

Lynn L. Severance. “Seeking the Light of God's Comforter When Challenges Dim Our View” 44. The Waiting Time. Redemption Press.