soul security: waiting in silence

For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,

for my hope is from him.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be shaken.

On God rests my salvation and my glory;

my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

Psalm 62:5-7

The deepest life lessons and the dearest moments with God will come while waiting in silence. David reminds himself even from the very first line of this psalm that God is worth waiting for (Psalm 62:1). Here he talks to his soul, commanding himself to silently wait for the hope that he knows will eventually arrive in God.

Waiting is a lost art in an Amazon Prime world! We are used to our drive-thru lifestyle… always busy, cramming our agendas, breathlessly breaking the sound barrier with our pace, always on the move, always working, always busy, and so restless it takes an Ambien to put us down at night. This is not the way of a soul that rests in God! He calls us to contemplation. God calls us to trust… by waiting… ready to silently expect Him to move on His cosmic scale. And although we live tragically hurried lives, God is not bound by our schedules. He calls us to halt our pace, to sabbath rest, to renewing worship by taking rest as one of His best gifts. “The sabbath was made for man,” just as Jesus taught. And we would do well to get away and rest just like Jesus modeled for us.

The results of waiting for the Lord are soul-satisfying, and humanly healthy. Look at this list of results from Psalm 63:5-7:

• A sense of real hope in God.
• Finding strength in God.
• Finding security in God’s protection
• Salvation. Hello?! That’s a big one!
• Shelter in His presence.
• Stability in our shaking situations.
• A focus on true worship as awareness of God’s glory pushes out busy thoughts and brightens the silence.
• Power in God’s might.
• Protection in His refuge.

Lord,

Help me to be a person willing to permanently forfeit the rat race! I tell my soul today: “wait in silence”! You are my hope. You are my shelter. Jesus, You are my salvation. I will not shake under your shelter.

Amen