Waiting for God.

A friend once told me that the way to make the bus come was to light a cigarette. Though I don’t smoke, on coldwinter days when waiting became intolerable, I would imagine pulling out a cigarette, striking a match, and inhaling. It didn’t make the bus come any faster, but it kept me occupied. (Psalm 40:1-11). This passage begins with the psalmist waiting for God andends with a plea for God’s mercy—he is waiting for God again.In between, he considers different options of how to wait, some even more dangerous than smoking.
In the first verses, God rescues the psalmist from the “desolatepit,” “the miry bog” (v. 2). These may be taken literally butare also a good description of despair. When God doesn’t answer immediately, some of us tend to panic and sink into gloom.Verse 4 suggests that some people look for other options—pride, false gods, plan B—rather than trusting God. Verse 6 reveals aself-help strategy—sacrifice and offering—in hopes that these will earn our way or God’s approval.
Do any of these sound familiar? Waiting is never easy, but how does the psalmist wait? He remembers the ways God has delivered him in the past, “more than can be counted” (v. 5). He finds happiness in trusting God and delights in obeying God’swill and sharing God’s faithfulness with other believers. He continues to knock on God’s door, asking for what he waits for. While he waits, he sets his mind on the mind of God and finds joy even in the waiting. Respond: God, I am waiting on you today. Help me to please you and find joy in you even as I wait. And please answer my prayers.

Waiting for God:
I waited patiently for the LORD; he inclined to meand heard my cry (Psalm 40:1).