My soul waits for the Lord
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My
soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning -- Yes,
more than those who watch for the morning" (Psalm 130:5, 6).
What does it mean to wait for the Lord?
To wait means to be alert to something expected or anticipated. To
wait for a bus means that we have decided not to walk, but to use public
transportation. We must wait, because the bus has not yet arrived. We wait
patiently because we have looked at the timetable and believe that the bus
will come. We also know that when the bus does arrive, we must be waiting
at the right stop.
Sometimes we become impatient. We think, "That bus is not coming!"
So we leave the bus stop and start walking. Suddenly the bus zooms by.
It does not stop, of course, because there is no bus stop there. Through
impatience, we missed our chance.
To wait for the Lord means to continually look to Him for assistance
and salvation, to be satisfied that God will work everything out.
If you were lost in a forest at night, you would be waiting, even
longing for the morning light. Our souls should be waiting and longing for
the help that only God can give.
"I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His word I do hope. My
soul waits for the Lord more than those who watch for the morning -- Yes,
more than those who watch for the morning" (Psalm 130:5, 6).
"I will lift up my eyes to the hills -- From whence comes my help? My
help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth" (Psalm 121:1, 2).
"For since the beginning of the world men have not heard nor
perceived by the ear, nor has the eye seen any God besides You, Who acts
for the one who waits for Him" (Isaiah 64:4).
We wait for God continually: "To You, O Lord, I lift up my soul. O
my God, I trust in You; let me not be ashamed; let not my enemies triumph
over me. Indeed, let no one who waits on You be ashamed; let those be
ashamed who deal treacherously without cause. Show me Your ways, O
Lord; teach me Your paths. Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You
are the God of my salvation; on You I wait all the day" (Psalm 25:1-5).
We have courage to face the difficulties of live because we look to
God for the help He has promised: "I would have lost heart, unless I had
believed that I would see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living.
Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart;
wait, I say, on the Lord!" (Psalm 27:13, 14).
"Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our
heart shall rejoice in Him, because we have trusted in His holy name. Let
Your mercy, O Lord, be upon us, just as we hope in You" (Psalm 33:20-22).
Because we wait on God for justice and judgment, we do not allow
ourselves to become excessively agitated about evil people: "Rest in the
Lord, and wait patiently for Him; do not fret because of him who prospers in
his way, because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass. Cease from
anger, and forsake wrath; do not fret -- it only causes harm. For evildoers
shall be cut off; but those who wait on the Lord, they shall inherit the earth"
(Psalm 37:7-9).
"Do not say, 'I will recompense evil'; wait for the Lord, and He will
save you" (Proverbs 20:22).
"Wait on the Lord, and keep His way, and He shall exalt you to
inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you shall see it" (Psalm 37:34).
Even in the greatest of difficulties, we may wait for God's help: "I
waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry. He
also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet
upon a rock, and established my steps" (Psalm 40:1, 2).
Here David is probably speaking of difficulties resulting from sin. For
our salvation we wait for God. Who else can help us? "My soul, wait silently
for God alone, for my expectation is from Him. He only is my rock and my
salvation; He is my defense; I shall not be moved" (Psalm 62:5,6).
We wait on God for salvation from death: "He will swallow up death
forever, and the Lord God will wipe away tears from all faces; the rebuke of
His people He will take away from all the earth; for the Lord has spoken.
And it will be said in that day: 'Behold, this is our God; we have waited for
Him, and He will save us. This is the Lord; we have waited for Him; we will
be glad and rejoice in His salvation" (Isaiah 25:8, 9).
If we are not waiting for God, then He is waiting for us! He is waiting
for use to repent so we can wait for Him: "Therefore the Lord will wait, that
He may be gracious to you; and therefore He will be exalted, that He may
have mercy on you. For the Lord is a God of justice; blessed are all those
who wait for Him" (Isaiah 30:18).
Do not keep God waiting! If you are not yet a Christian, repent, turn to
God, believe in His Son Jesus Christ, whom God sent as Savior. Confess
your faith and be baptized into His body, the church, that your sins can be
forgiven. If you are a Christian who does not sufficiently wait for the Lord,
and that applies to us all, look to Him for sustenance and salvation from day
to day and forever.
"He gives power to the weak, and to those who have no might He
increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young
men shall utterly fall, but those who wait on the Lord shall renew their
strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles, they shall run and not
be weary, they shall walk and not faint" (Isaiah 40:29-31).
Let us wait for the Lord.
Roy Davison
The Scripture quotations in this article are from
The New King James Version. ©1979,1980,1982, Thomas Nelson Inc., Publishers.
Permission for reference use has been granted.
Published in The Old Paths Archive
(http://www.oldpaths.com)