Worth the Wait

Psalm 40:17

But I am poor and needy;

Yet the Lord thinks upon me.

You are my help and my deliverer;

Do not delay, O my God.

Waiting on the Lord just might be one of the hardest lessons for the natural part of me to learn. We wait for nothing these days. We live in a drive-up window, fast food, microwaved, remote controlled culture that has little patience for waiting on any thing. But when we are truly in need, the Psalmist teaches us that there are great benefits to waiting upon the Lord.

Then again, acknowledging our own need for Him might be one of the hardest lessons for us to learn. "I am poor and needy," the Psalmist wrote. He had that right. At the beginning of this Psalm, he compared his situation to being stuck in a horrible muddy hole with no way out. But he said, "I waited patiently for the Lord." And look what happened:

The Lord paid attention to me and my situation.

The Lord heard my cry and came to see what was going on.

The Lord reached down to me in my plight and rescued me from it.

The Lord set my feet on firm ground so that I would sink no more.

That God does those things is amazing. I mean, He's God and I'm not. I'm not anywhere near His level, and I'm never going to be. I'm an infinitesimal cosmic speck on an insignificant sphere in an out of the way corner of a less than average galaxy in a universe full of wonder, and He holds it all in the palm of His hand. Yet He always knows exactly where I am and what I'm doing, and He cares. He actually cares for me, and when I need Him, He is right there doing what only He can do. And not only that, but...

The Lord put a song in my mouth--Praise to our God!

And to draw from Psalm 37--

Trust in the Lord.

Delight yourself in the Lord.

Commit your way to the Lord.

and finally, Rest in the Lord.