Whether in a hospital “waiting room” or waiting out a threatening storm or situation, it is a place where time seems to stand still, where life is put on hold, and where anxiety and fear take root and grow within us. In such waiting situations, it feels as if our life has come to a screeching halt and our hopes painfully dashed. It feels as if God has led us down a long hallway and ushered us into a room with a huge sign over the doorway that says, “WAITING ROOM.” And there is only silence in response to our anguished, frustrated cry, “How long, O Lord? When are you going to do something? I do not know how much more I can take! Please, God, hear my prayer!”
We live in a society of instant gratification and any kind of waiting frustrates us. Waiting is so counter-cultural and unacceptable. And this selfish expectation is distorting the Christian perspective regarding the purpose and potential of waiting, whether it be our waiting to hear from God in our present difficult, bleak situation, or in God’s ADVENT of His promised glorious Kingdom on earth.
The Scriptures remind us that “waiting” invites us to be confident in what God is going to do for us. In Psalm 27:13-14, David says, “I remain confident of this; I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” This confidence and trust are repeated in Psalm 130:5-6, “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 watchmen wait for the morning.
These and many other scriptures seem to clearly define “good waiting” as being patient and confident, knowing that God is working in my life for my good and His glory. But if you are anything like me, being patient involves a great inner struggle. I tend to want things to happen, to change, not later but sooner.
From my own difficult life experiences of waiting and study of scripture, I have learned that the ability to calm our soul and wait for God’s response to our cry is one of the most difficult tasks in the Christian life. And I agree with the biblical scholars who say that God’s delays are not God’s denials but are for preparing us for greater blessing. And so, when God has us “waiting” it is because there is yet work for Him to do, either in us or for us, in order for us to best receive His blessing.
The truth is that whenever we encounter a “waiting” situation, we have to make a choice whether or not to wait on the Lord. And when we choose not to wait on God, we become impatient, fearful, and full of worry. We begin to doubt that God is good and loving. We begin to doubt His ability to provide for us and to resolve our problem situation. And when we respond like this, we are prime candidates for ulcers, migraine headaches, high blood pressure, and even heart attacks.
I know that this is not the choice God wishes for us to make. He dearly loves us and desires to give us the best of physical and spiritual refreshment – “But those who wait on the Lord will find new strength. They will fly high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31). This is the best choice in every “waiting” time or place in our life’s journey.
And so, I say to myself and to you, as we anxiously sit in waiting, use the time to read Psalm 130. This is a psalm of urgent, hopeful waiting by a distressed person who cries out to God from the depths of life with the hope that God will hear and deliver. The writer starts in the depths and ends with confidence.
This psalm is one of many that can calm and nourish our soul while we wait to hear God’s answer to our questioning. This psalm encourages us to pray with greater confidence that God hears our cry and is present with us. With renewed confidence in his presence and love, we can be more patient in accepting His purposeful working in us.
My own experience has taught me that God can be trusted because He is always and forever true to His name and character. Write it on your heart and in your mind, God is Love and God is with us!
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“Healing Rays of Righteousness” – November 29, 2023
Ray M. Geigley
Healing Rays of Righteousness 
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