Waiting Patiently

Psalm 40:1-3

Patience.  That is a word that most of us do not like to hear, at least not too often.  We’ve become a society that likes to move at lightning speed. We want our food right away, and to eat it right in the car, no longer eating at home around the dinner table after cooking the meal for an hour or so.  Ever since emails started to become popular in the late 1980’s, we’ve wanted our correspondence instantaneously, as well. Letters sent by regular mail have become a thing of the past, and young people laugh that the folks a hundred years ago used to wait over a week to get a piece of mail from across the country.  Businesses don’t have to wait anymore for important documents, as we scan them over the internet, and they are just as legal as the originals. Nobody wants to wait anymore. Nobody, that is, except God. Today’s psalm is one written by King David, who learned that God is never in a hurry.

As our world gets faster and faster, racing completely around the world in a matter of a few hours, we also want God to be that fast with His response to our prayers, as well.  We pray to God and want an answer right away. Whether it is for healing, a job, or no matter what it is, we get frustrated and lose our patience if we don’t get a response immediately.  However, that is not God’s way. The Bible is replete with examples of God having many of His children wait for answers to prayer. David, the author of today’s Scripture, is one example.  When he was a teen-aged youth, the prophet Samuel had anointed him to be king, but many years passed before that happened. David frequently had to flee the murderous wrath of King Saul. Saul’s attacks continued on for many years before they came to an end.  Some other examples of patient waiting in Scriptures are Abraham and Sarah who waited decades for the birth of their promised son. Moses waited patiently for 40 years in the land of Midian as a shepherd before God sent him back into Egypt to lead the children of Israel out of bondage.  God’s people waited hundreds of years before the promised Messiah came.

Why do we have to wait so long before God answers?  One reason is that God wants us to develop a closer, more dependent relationship with Him.  That can happen as we wait patiently for the Lord, praying daily, bringing our concerns and burdens to Him, and laying them at the foot of His throne.  If God answered instantaneously every time we came to Him, then we would start to take Him for granted. He would become just like a butler or house servant, who when the master snaps his fingers, they come running to do his bidding.  He becomes like a heavenly genie, who we only turn to when we need something.

As we read in verse 2 of our psalm, David is in terrible trouble.  He describes it as a “horrible pit” filled with “miry clay”. Imagine a deep pit filled with wet, slippery mud that you are struggling to get out of.  No matter how hard you try to climb the sides, the slick mud keeps causing you to slip and slide back down, and you can’t get out no matter how hard you try.  Perhaps you are even sinking deeper and deeper into the mud, and within a brief while it’s to your knees, then your waist, then higher and higher. You can’t help yourself.  You pray and pray as you sink deeper and deeper. David was in some type of dilemma that felt just like being in such a terrible pit. He prayed and prayed to the Lord for deliverance.  We can tell that the answer was not immediate, as David says that he waited.

David not only waited, but the Bible says that he waited patiently.  Patient waiting and trust throughout his life had drawn David into a close and loving relationship with the Lord.  He knew that he didn’t need to fear. He knew that God would rescue him before it was too late. God rarely ever rushes.  Often we have to wait for His answers. When we wait for God patiently, we show that we trust Him. Throughout the time that he had to wait, David didn’t give in to loud and long complaints, either (vs. 3).  Instead he learned to praise God. He could have complained that God let him sink in the pit for awhile. He could have complained that God let him fall into that pit to begin with. Instead, though, David sang songs of praise to God.  Praise during a difficult time is often a key to answered prayer. Praise to God will send demons fleeing!

God desires to rescue His beloved children when they are in the pits that the enemy sets, and even ones that we have dug ourselves.  He will never leave us in that pit, nor let us sink to where the miry clay has gone over our head. We need to wait for His timing, and also remember that He is never too late.