Read the transcript from today's video devotional.
If you're reading this right now, you're probably waiting for something or someone. Maybe you're at a stoplight, or maybe you're getting your coffee. Maybe you're waiting to get your test results and you're really anxious right now. Maybe you've been in a season for ten years and you're wondering, will this season ever come to a close?
In our Verse of the Day today, David says this in Psalm chapter 37 and verse 7: Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for Him to act. Don't worry about evil people who prosper or fret about their wicked schemes. This is David writing in his older years. He's lived quite a bit, and he has some wisdom that he wants to share with us and it’s on waiting. Not only waiting, but waiting patiently.
The Challenge of Waiting in Our Culture
The word wait is not a popular word in our hustle culture that's all about speed and just getting stuff done. In fact, if you're not productive, or if you're not moving around, if you're not doing stuff, you're not important. If your schedule's not full, you're not important. You and I know that's a lie.
David challenges us and he says, be still in the presence of the Lord. He says, wait patiently for Him to act. The key word there is patiently. The question that I want to pose for all of us is not are we waiting, but how are we waiting?
How Are We Waiting?
Are we waiting patiently? It's one thing to wait but it's another thing to wait with a positive attitude. The Israelites had this history of complaining right during the waiting. If you read about the Israelites all throughout the Bible, they had this gift of complaining. God was very strict with the Israelites because they complained.
When I read this text, I was just reminded of the fact that we're not only called to wait, we're called to wait patiently. We're not passively waiting. We're reflecting on and remembering how good God has been to us. In some of my darkest seasons of my life, I sometimes have to take out a pen and paper and just start writing things down that God has done in my life.
I make a gratitude list and that just really encourages me of how faithful God has been to me. There are moments where I wonder, Lord, will you ever come through? I've been praying and I've been waiting for so long. It's important we understand that God is always working behind the scenes.
Fixing Our Eyes on the Lord
Our job is to wait patiently with a good attitude. Our job is to fix our eyes on the Lord. Our job is to worship because something happens when we take the attention off of ourselves and we're saying, Lord, I'm going to trust You even though I don't see what You're doing behind the scenes right now. Sometimes I'm preaching to myself and I'm thinking, Lord, You said in Isaiah chapter 43 and verse 2 that when I go through deep waters, You'll be with me.
I'm literally preaching to myself, because sometimes we need to encourage ourselves. That's a challenge when we're waiting. If you're in that waiting season right now, remind yourself of the truth of God's Word. God is always working, and He may answer your prayer request today, tomorrow, in ten years, or in the life to come. We know He's working behind the scenes.
Don't Get Worked Up
Then David says, don't worry about evil people. That literally means don't get worked up. Sometimes when we get so worked up, we start to say things about God that are not true because our emotions are right here. They're high. This is something that I've taught myself, let your emotions subside. Make a gratitude list.
Focus on how good God is and don't complain, but proclaim the faithfulness of God. Then David ends and he says, or fret about their wicked schemes. Yes, people around us might be prospering, but David reminds us, it's only for a short amount of time. Be encouraged today that God is working behind the scenes and He will finish what He started as you wait for Him.
