Have you ever noticed how much of your time is spent waiting? If not, you’ve never been to Disneyland! We all want a fast pass to accomplish our dreams and desires. But the truth is, you’re going to spend much of your life waiting. It can be frustrating and leave us wondering, “When, Lord? When will You come through for me?” I believe this may be the reason the Psalmist, David, wrote this prayer:
Psalm 27:11 “Teach me how to live, O LORD. Lead me along the right path…”
The next verse tells us that he was threatened by enemies accusing him of things he had never done. Surely this was a reference to King Saul who was hunting him down like a fugitive.
God had given David a promise when he was about fifteen that he would become Israel’s next King. Now he was learning from experience what it meant to wait on the Lord. He wouldn’t become King until he was thirty! That’s a lot of waiting!
During that period of waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled, David was chased through the wilderness by a jealous King Saul, who was doing everything possible to prevent God’s promise in David’s life from ever being fulfilled! It must have seemed like an impossibility at times to David through those lonely years, hiding in caves and running from place to place.
Waiting for God is never easy. David learned a lesson we must learn as well – his season of waiting didn’t mean God had stopped working! God was at work shaping David’s character and preparing him from the promise to be fulfilled in His time. In Isaiah 60:22 God says, “I am the LORD, and when it is time, I will make these things happen quickly.” So we can trust that while we are waiting, God is working! As David learned that lesson, he could write these words:
Psalm 27:13-14 “Yet I am confident I will see the LORD’s goodness while I am here in the land of the living. Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD.”
David trusted God to fulfill His promise and believed he would see the Lord’s goodness while he was still living! “The land of the living” simply means “this life” or “while I am living.” Despite the severe trial he was going through, David was confident that in his present life, God would see him through it!
What about you? Are you going through a time of waiting? Maybe it’s that career you’ve been pursuing or a marriage to happen, or a child to be born. And you’re frustrated, wondering if it will ever happen for you. We’ve all been there.
When I feel that way, I often recall something a pastor said to his ageing congregation many times, “If you’re not dead, you’re not done!” In this context, I would change that to: “If you’re not dead, God’s not done!”
You don’t have to wait till you get to heaven to see God’s goodness! Trust Him that He is at work while you wait and take confidence in the promise that you will see the Lord’s goodness while you are here in the land of the living!
Don’t give in to fear or doubt. Wait patiently for the Lord and be brave and courageous. He will never break His promises to you!