DAD'S RAMBLINGS – HURRY UP AND WAIT
"I waited patiently for the LORD, and He inclined to me, and heard my cry." (Psalm 40:1)
"Be pleased, O LORD, to deliver me; O LORD, make haste to help me!" (Psalm 40:13)
Just a minute, David! Is this a contradiction? In the first verse, David said that he waited patiently for the LORD. In the next breath, he plead with the LORD to hurry up and deliver him. Which is it, David? Is it possible to be patient in a hurry? I have never been in the Army, but I understand that this is the motto: Hurry up and wait!
Perhaps the Hebrew idea of patience is different than our 21st century English. Often we think patience is passively folding our hands in waiting for something to happen. But the Hebrew idea is more an expectant looking forward to something. An example might be a child who is waiting for Christmas to come. He wants it to happen tomorrow. As adults, we patiently wait for Christmas to come as we expectantly look forward to that wonderful day.
It is possible to expectantly look forward to God's deliverance while at the same time wanting Him to hurry up and bring the answer. We don't want to stay in our time of challenge any longer than necessary, while at the same time trusting God in eager anticipation.
We patiently wait for Jesus's return, while at same time we desire for Him to return quickly. Jesus said, "Surely I am coming quickly." It has been centuries since He said this, so we patiently wait in eager anticipation for His return. At the same time, we say, "Even so, come, Lord Jesus" (Revelation 22:20).
While we are in the waiting room – whatever the situation is – we wait patiently for God's timing to be fulfilled, but we also can desire that God bring His answer quickly. If we don't keep this perspective, we can become frustrated and discouraged when things don't happen as quickly as we want.
So as we wait patiently for the Lord – eagerly anticipating His answer, we must not become so passive that we lose our sense of urgency.
Love, Dad
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