Psalm 27:14

14  Wait for the Lord; 

be strong, and let your heart take courage; 

wait for the Lord! 

 The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. (2016). (Ps 27:14). Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles.

Abba,

Waiting is no fun.  Waiting means deferring pleasure; denying self; controlling our passions and desires.  Waiting means trusting there is a better time or place for the thing we desire.  Waiting may even hurt at times.  Waiting may mean enduring unpleasant, even painful, circumstances as we ride the waves of turmoil awaiting its cessation.  Waiting may even acknowledge our powerlessness and complete lack of control.  It may expose realities about ourselves that we are not keen to see.  From a fleshly viewpoint, waiting is a hassle and annoyance. 

At the same time, there is joy in waiting.  The building of anticipation actually strengthens the desire of the thing.  As the anticipation builds, how sweet it is when the time of fulfillment come!  The increased anticipation makes the culmination ever so much sweeter.

The context of this Psalm has been that of trouble, opposition, and vindication.  It has been about the fact that you are our shelter, protection, and hope.  It has been pointing us to our refuge in you during the time of difficulty.  War, opposition, adversaries come against spreading lies and seeking death.  Time and time again however, hope is pronounced in the Your nearness and Your presence to shelter, guard, protect, and vindicate.  While the opposition continues, this hope persists.

In our lives, waiting is an ever present reality.  Whether it be vindication in the face of opposition, as it is here, or some other form.  We wait for deliverance from grief and sorrow.  We wait for deliverance from loneliness.  We wait for deliverance from sickness and pain.  We wait for deliverance from those persistent sins that cling so tightly to us.  We wait for deliverance from those circumstances over which we possess no control or power. 

What’s more, we know there will come a day when the trouble and difficulty will cease entirely.  And this we yearn for with ever increasing desire!  We want the turmoil to end.  But we know that the day of total cessation is not yet here; it has not yet arrived.  Yet, you are our shelter in the storm even while we wait the storms end.

It is for this end, this total deliverance that we must wait.  In the midst of our trouble, we cling to you,  our refuge and hiding place.  We look forward with longing for the day of complete deliverance from these tumults and the constant battling.  Until that time comes, we wait.

And not just any wait; the tone of this word is waiting with hope, confidence, and joy!  It is waiting in joy for the promise of deliverance EVEN WHILE still enduring the very hardship we are seek relief from.  And when relief comes; when release from the hardships arrives, OH HOW SWEET IT WILL BE!  The longer our wait, the greater our suffering, the sweeter the joy at relief! 

Therefore Abba, Grant us strength and fortitude to endure, to enjoy, and to appreciate the waiting knowing that the waiting will increase the enjoyment once received.  And the benefit of waiting will produce in us dividends that will last for an eternity. 

Make us strong in your might.

Grant courage to our hearts.

Stoke the fires of hope

Still the restlessness of our impatience

And let us, with joy, wait upon you.