Waiting On The Lord

Where I live, public health restrictions have only gotten more strict with each passing month. It’s been well over a year of plans canceled, jobs lost, relationships strained, loved ones lost. I feel like I’ve had enough.

What about you? I don’t know what your current situation is but I encourage you to look to the Lord no matter how you feel.

That’s what the psalmist does in this passage. He trusts the one “enthroned in the heavens” (v1). He recognizes that the Lord has unlimited power and sovereign control over all events. This is the God who delivered his people from Egypt, sustained them through their journey in the wilderness, and rescued them despite their frequent failure to follow his laws.

God’s faithfulness doesn’t depend on our worthiness, but on his commitment to his reputation. He follows through with his promises. We see God’s ultimate promise of deliverance fulfilled through Jesus’ redeeming death for us.

We need the type of faith the psalmist has in verse 2: our eyes look to the LORD our God until he shows us his mercy. Notice that it’s not “if he shows us his mercy”, but “until”. He knows God will act on their behalf. It’s simply a question of when and how he will deliver his people. The combination of God’s power, care for his name, and love for his people gave the psalmist assurance that God would answer favorably.

Although we don’t always understand why God allows the things he does, his timing is always perfect. I’m alive because God’s timing is perfect. I started having symptoms of myasthenia gravis in February 2008, but it wasn’t diagnosed until six months later. Less than half an hour after the neurologist made the diagnosis, I was in the Emergency Room, where I stopped breathing. God knew exactly what he was doing. What I thought was a long delay was but part of his plan. I still don’t understand it, but I know I can trust the sovereign Lord, who had mercy on me in his wise, sovereign time.

In impossible circumstances, you can wait for God to graciously act on your behalf. In his infinite wisdom, he knows when to give you what is best for you. Wait on the Lord — he has and will continue to show you mercy.

Lord of the universe, thank you for your love and care for me. I cannot help but depend on you with everything I am. Thank you because you are faithful, just as you always have been. Help me to trust and wait on you today.

Throughout This Day: Whenever the situation you are in affects your emotional or mental state negatively, take time to worship, praise, and thank God for his constant care and infinite wisdom.