During the summer I was preparing to enter college, my family was in an automobile accident that totaled the family van. As we all sat in the waiting room of the Garden State Hospital’s emergency room two female senior citizens enter the waiting room with a sense of great urgency. One of the ladies told the receptionist that their doctor told them to rush to the emergency room for he felt her friend could be having a heart attack. The receptionist replied by saying, “Have a seat and we will be with you in a little while.”
One day I was sitting at a red light with several cars behind me. When the light turned green not more than two seconds had passed when the car behind me laid on his horn as to reprimand me for not peeling rubber at the very moment the light turned green.
On our rides home from church services our daughter would often declare in a desperate and sad voice, “I’m hungry Daddy!” I would invariably tell her we will get her something to eat as soon as we get home (we lived 10 minutes from church); however, the immediate response was, “But it’s taking too long & I’m really hungry!”
You know, thoughts of astonishment come to our minds when we hear of the female senior citizens being told to wait when one may be having a heart attack, and thoughts of anger & revenge come when we hear of the aggressive horn beeper, and we kind of chuckle when we hear of the impatience of children wanting something at a time that is impossible for a parent to do anything about it.
What about us? Have we become nothing more than mere “adult children” spiritually? We bring our requests before God searching for answers to our petitions. However, when the Lord tells us to wait, we often grow frustrated, discouraged, and sometimes even angry! It is essential that we learn how to wait on the Lord with active faith!
o Psalm 25:5: “Lead me in thy truth, and teach me: for thou art the God of my salvation; on thee do I wait all the day.”
o Psalm 27:14: “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD.”
o Psalm 123:2: “Behold, as the eyes of servants look unto the hand of their masters, and as the eyes of a maiden unto the hand of her mistress; so our eyes wait upon the LORD our God, until that he have mercy upon us.”
o Proverbs 20:22: “Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD and he shall save thee.”
o Isaiah 8:17: “And I will wait upon the LORD, that hideth his face from the house of Jacob, and I will look for him.”
o Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint.”
We are called repeatedly to wait on the LORD. But what exactly does that mean? What does one do when he/she waits on the LORD? Turn in your Bibles to Psalm 62.
Context: The context of this Psalm of David is his sin with Bathsheba. The sorrow and anguish of that sin, the great sickness he endured, and the death of the child all paint a picture of his recent past. Now with David busy with his sin, sorrow, and sickness he seemed to let some things regarding his kingdom slide, and his son (Absalom) had been busy stealing the hearts of the men of the kingdom – preparing to usurp the throne. King David has just recently found out about Absalom’s plans and it drives him back to God. It is with this context that Psalm 62 is written.
Read Psalm 62.
David felt particularly vulnerable. Anyone who has been caught in sin knows the feeling . . .shame, guilt, and a sense of unworthiness to ever again act or speak for God. Satan is sure to take full advantage of such a situation, but feeling as he did David speaks of the source of his strength.
David had wealth, armies, charisma, and tremendous power; yet, he names the LORD as his all in all!
Genuine Hope: Salvation in God (vv.1-2a)
“Truly”, “Only”, “Surely” are all the same word in the original language. David used it six times in this short Psalm to show that all his hopes were pinned on God alone. This is a tremendous thought, isn’t it?! It is God and God alone who is our salvation.
The Protestant Reformation was fought on one word: “alone.”
o Rome claims to believe in the inspiration of the Scriptures and in their value as a rule of faith – but not in the Scriptures alone… they add tradition and rituals to it.
o Rome says she believes in salvation by faith – but not in salvation by faith alone…they add works to it.
o Rome claims to believe in Christ’s ability to forgive sins – but not in Christ’s ability alone.
Satan would have you and I to add something to the finished work of Christ. David knew better. David’s sin exposed him to this “friendly fire” (his own family leading this coup against him) and he knew only God’s merciful hand would save him. He knew his defense…his salvation…was in God alone.
Reassuring Rest: Security in God (v. 2b)
The odds were indeed against him. Trouble seemed to be brewing on every side as his own son worked to take over the kingdom. However, David put his security in God. “I shall not be greatly moved.”
Where does your defense lay? When troubled waters come across your path and there seems no way out…where have you staked your security? We need to stake all our security in God!
Have you ever done something with your “all?” Everything you have you put into this one thing. Sports is a great example of this! You play your revival football team in college. You are making smart choices, strong blocks, running effective patterns, and even make a touchdown…then when you’re all done the game you still came up short! We will never come up short with the LORD God of heaven!
He is all-powerful - Is. 43:13; Luke 1:37
He is all-knowing - Psalm 147:5; I Jn. 3:20
He is ever-present - Psalm 139:7-11; Prov. 15:3
He never changes - James 1:17
So, when it feels like everyone at work is against you – strive for excellence for God’s glory and stake all your security in Him. When the bills stack up high – spend less, work hard, aim to be good stewards of the money God entrusts to you and stake all your security in Him. When friends betray you and trust is broken – work toward restoration and forgiveness, live and talk as though Jesus is visibly seen in the room, and stake all your security in Him!
Four priests met for a friendly gathering. During the conversation one priest said, “Our people come to us and pour out their hearts confessing certain sins and needs. Let’s do the same. Confession is good for the soul.”
In due time all agreed. One confessed he liked to go to movies and would sneak off when away from his church. The second confessed to smoking cigars, and the third one confessed to playing cards. When it came to the fourth one, he wouldn’t confess. The others pressed him saying, “Come now, we confessed ours. What is your secret or vice?” Finally he answered, “It is gossiping and I can hardly wait to get out of here.” (Source: Unknown)
Waiting on God looks like running to the One who has the best news, the best resources, and the best abilities! Waiting on God requires active dependence in who God is and what His Word says. Waiting on God will include an active prayer life, consistent personal Bible study, sincere corporate worship, and others-minded ministry! So, what did David do to “wait on God” that we must do as well? Let’s end this time together with looking at 4 choices we must embrace when learning how to wait on the Lord.
Choose your deliverer (62:1)
Know your deliverer well (62:2)
Trust your deliverer (62:2)
Go all in! (62:5)
It is essential that we learn how to wait on the Lord with active faith!