What have you been waiting for? A difficult relationship being healed? A debt paid off? A sickness healed? We can wait, and wait, and it can seem like radio silence from God. That’s what David felt, and I’m so glad he put it into words and someone selected it for inclusion in the psalms.
For David, pursuing God’s mission meant waiting a long time, through many dark days, yet remaining faithful to God’s heart and ways even in difficult circumstances. David will write many psalms of lament, which we can read in the book of Psalms, where he cries out to God, “How long, O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” (Ps 13:1) David is so frustrated that he thinks God must be purposefully ignoring him.
Or how about this one: “To you I call, O Lord my Rock; do not turn a deaf ear to me. For if you remain silent, I will be like those who have gone down to the pit.” (Ps 28:1)
Here’s a famous one: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from the words of my groaning? O my God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer.” (Ps 22:1–2)
How can God not see the hurt and pain that David is going through? Perhaps you’ve felt like that.
There is hope. Because God is real, there is hope. That in-between time, though, is so difficult, and we can struggle to keep hope alive. When we are waiting, we can struggle to continue to walk in God’s ways. When it seems like God is not answering us, we can struggle to choose obedience. Especially when culture encourages us to live differently from God’s ways. This is why David is such a wonderful example for us. Even when we are sick and tired of waiting for an outcome we are hoping for, even when we feel like we cannot wait one more day, God is faithful.
The story of David is a story about how to wait. It is not a story the guarantees the outcome we are looking for. God is not obligated to fulfill our desires. Even when those desires are good and in line with his heart. David’s story reminds us of how to wait, even when the waiting is long, or even when the waiting might never come to pass. What is important is how we wait.
How have you seen God’s faithfulness, even though the waiting might have been difficult and felt like it was taking forever? I encourage you to reflect on that now. Maybe write it down in a journal. Maybe talk about it with God, thanking him. Maybe talk about it with friends and family.
Engaging Scripture 