faith to wait

Wait for the LORD;

be strong, and let your heart take courage;

wait for the LORD!

Psalm 27:14

This four word command at the beginning and at the ending of this verse gets my attention. It is a call to wait on God, a command to look to Him, an order from God to be patient for God. It feels impossibly difficult to manage. And in the middle of the strong command to wait are two other commands that feel equally difficult to follow as I am trying to wait.

BE STRONG. How can a person just “be strong”? It’s like telling a sick person “Get better”. Really? Duh! Of course I don’t want to be sick! Of course I want to trust God! For those waiting on God, of course we want to be strong! But how? How can my soul strongly wait for what it wants most of all but does not , as yet, have? This command to be strong has to have a root somewhere. It needs an anchor. It needs more than just my willpower. 

TAKE COURAGE. Where will my heart get this courage? It seems equally implausible that I can muster this up by waiting alone. The root meaning of “courage” in Hebrew means both to withstand (like weathering a storm) and to maintain (like staying on course). How does my heart withstand what seeks to deter me from waiting on God? How can I stay at it for as long as it takes?

The answers to all these questions that come to me as I read Psalm 27:14 are answered when I read and understand Psalm 27:13:

I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living!

I can wait with faith. Because I believe God, I can wait. Because I trust Him I will find strength. Because I will see Him now, and find Him at work in me while I yet live, I can have the courage to keep waiting, keep trusting, keep knowing God’s goodness for me. FAITH is what it takes to WAIT. I believe God… so I will wait for Him.