Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him;
fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
over the man who carries out evil devices!
Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
For the evildoers shall be cut off,
but those who wait for the LORD shall inherit the land.
Waiting is so tough. No one likes it. No one volunteers to wait. When an airline books too many passengers for a flight they often offer vouchers for someone to wait and take a later flight. You seldom have to wait in a line to get the free ticket, however. It is the one time you might not have to wait while flying. Waiting is not built into our DNA. But that is what the above line from King David’s song reads. He writes to us to be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him ... ! That might be the key in our changing our nature about waiting. It makes a difference, often, what we are waiting for that makes the wait tolerable. Waiting in line for something you desire is less tiresome than waiting in line because of the inefficiency of those around you. But waiting for God to provide something by way of His great care and blessing is worth being still.
But there is one thing that really makes waiting even more stressful, however. When we are patiently waiting and we see someone jump the line, or be promoted over those who were already waiting. That is tantamount to a declaration of war. People do not tolerate line jumpers. That might be the one single value that brings us all together. In David’s line above, he warns us to not fret because of evil doers. Those who do evil things are not waiting. They are taking. God warns us to not fret over them. He warns us that when we fret it tends to evil. So being patient to wait on God is to be done while not fretting over evil doers. Because if you fret you will become an evildoer. Evildoers will be cut off, David writes. A person waiting on God does not fret and start to be evil since they put their trust in God and His timing and His plans. An evildoer will not be patient and even look like they are prospering. When we envy them we become like them. Be still and wait for the LORD, least we too become the evildoers we dislike.
No comments:
Post a Comment