Chapter 20
I AM Waiting on You, Lord
Life can be risky and filled with valid reasons to have feelings of fear - ranging from a general feeling of apprehension all the way to dread and terror. Habits of fear often begin when we are very young - with fears of things like darkness, monsters, things that go bump in the night. And they continue into our teenage years with fears of things like rejection, humiliation and failure. Adulthood can also be filled with fear of disease, death, financial problems, relationships, loved ones being hurt, storms, failure, aging, or crime.
Like us, David had valid reasons to feel anxiety and fear in his life, but he had one greater reason to feel peace. He had God on his side. One time, during an emergency, David wrote Psalm 27. You might read the entire psalm when you have time - it's only 14 verses. But from verse 3, we get the impression that Saul's soldiers must have been camped all around his hiding place. David was certainly in a tight spot again. But the last verse, verse 14, caught my eye. It says, "Wait on the Lord: be of good courage, and He shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the Lord."
When I'm in a tight spot, I want the solution immediately. I fuss and carry on until my husband says in exasperation, "Calm down and wait on the Lord. You’ll see, everything is going to be just fine." Sometimes I take things into my own hands and try to fix them myself, but that hasn’t worked out too well for me. Today, through David's words in this psalm, God is telling us to just wait on Him. He is saying, "Yeah, it looks pretty bad on the surface, but just trust me. I have a plan. It might take a little time to get everything in place, but it's going to be all right. Just wait on Me, and I'll handle everything."
As a mental exercise, I want you to think back and remember something that caused you anxiety in the past but is now resolved. I want you to thank God for taking such good care of that situation. (For example, we still thank God for selling our restaurant 12 years ago and saving us from having to declare bankruptcy.) Say to the Lord (and yourself), "You have taken care of me before in really tight situations, and I know You will do it again. I am giving You this situation (name something troubling you), and I'm just going to wait it out and see what You do."
Continue to Chapter 20: Questions
