ODJ: waiting
December 17, 2010
Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly (v.3).
READ: Psalm 5:1-3
We have some friends, a young married couple, living with us. Finished with one part of their university studies, they’ve applied to a variety of graduate schools to continue their coursework. But they have no idea where they will end up. The possibilities are all over the map—from Boston to Vancouver to Pittsburgh to Atlanta. They’ve filled out many applications and requested numerous grants. There have also been interviews and carefully considered options as they’ve considered their future every which way. Now, all they can do is pray—and wait for the day when the postman brings news of what their future holds.
Psalm 5 begins with a straightforward request: “O Lord, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning” (v.1). The psalmist, King David, was in a gloomy place. We don’t know his situation, but David was experiencing some measure of loss, sorrow, or torment. He was in pain, “groaning.” And in his difficult place, David wanted God to hear his agony. He needed God to listen to his “cry for help” (v.2). David didn’t run to his advisors or his wife or the many wise sages of his court for aid. None of them could help him. He didn’t roll up his sleeves and pore over documents, figuring out some solution to his predicament.
David knew he couldn’t help himself. He went directly to the only One who could meet him in his darkness. “I pray to no one but You,” David said (v.2). David waited, watching for God.
David’s only work was to not work. He decided to bring his heart and his hope to God and then to “wait expectantly” (v.3). The Message puts it this way: “Every morning I lay out the pieces of my life on your altar and watch for fire to descend.” —Winn Collier
When have you tried to no avail to make something happen? In what specific ways do you need to wait for God instead?
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…in my exams…esp wen none of my lecture notes seem to stick…