Psalm 70:5 “But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God, thou art my help and my deliverer; O LORD, make no tarrying.”
Do you like to wait? Psalm 70 is only five verses long, but you get the feeling that the psalmist was in a hurry! “Make haste, O God, to deliver me; make haste to help me, O LORD. . . . But I am poor and needy: make haste unto me, O God. . . .” I guess you could call Psalm 70 the “hurry up psalm”! Maybe you are in a period of life right now when you would like to ask the Lord to “hurry up,” but you find yourself waiting. Usually we think of waiting as a means to an end. Haven’t you heard the phrase, “Good things come to those who wait”? A good thing is the end; waiting is simply the means–the way–to get it.
I can wait if I know I want something. If I want a specific pair of hiking boots, I will have read about them and pinpointed the exact pair. Now, I can wait–I don’t have to buy the first pair of boots I see. I’ll wait to get exactly what I want, and then I’ll keep those boots for fifteen years!
But do you think God sees waiting the same way as we do? Do you think what He provides is the end, or is the waiting itself the end? We wait in order to get something we value; God provides in order to have us wait. In other words, waiting is the end; what He provides is just the means to get us to wait. God values our waiting.
Why do you have your kids wait? Because you don’t want to give it, don’t have the money, or you don’t have the time. Is God ever without care, time, or money? Of course not! God is never in a hurry. You may think that waiting is just something you have to endure, but God is interested in something more valuable-your waiting.
Attention communicates respect. When I call Breck, my chocolate lab, I know I have her respect because her eyes are on me. Often I will give Breck a dog biscuit, but I don’t care about dog biscuits! I would give her a hundred biscuits; what I want is her respect and attention. I want Breck waiting on me. All she wants is the dog biscuit; all I want is her attention. Do you see how that works?
Waiting is not always something to be endured until you get a certain thing. That certain thing is what helps us focus on God. Waiting on God involves trusting Him, even when you cannot see how things are going to pan out. Behind it all is the fact that God wants our focus and attention. So, what are you waiting for? Hurry up and wait!
Prayer Requests:
1. Evangelists Wil Rice and Tim Thompson in the Philippines with Missionary Bob Himes and others (Jan. 5-18)
2. Revival services tonight in Floral City, FL