Worth the Wait

Worth the Wait

Psalm 40:1-21 (NIV) “I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.“

“Are we there yet?” “What’s taking her so long?” “How long will I continue to struggle with …?” “Why doesn’t God seem to be listening to my prayers and answering them?” Let’s face it … waiting is difficult. It’s not easy. It requires self-discipline and in many, if not all, cases an understanding of why we should exercise patience. You’ve no doubt had the experience of waiting for someone and wondered what was causing their delay – like when you’re waiting outside of a grocery store for someone you love, but they seem like they’re taking forever and you’re wondering if the are just trying to torture you or forgot you were outside and you somehow think that each minute that passes is an hour and the game comes on in 15 minutes and you can’t believe you may miss the beginning and your schedule for the day will have to be thrown out … (deep breath) … not that I’ve ever experienced that myself :) Waiting is so hard for us, in part, because we live in a culture that promotes immediate gratification – why wait when you can have it (or something somewhat like it or at least a little bit like it or maybe not at all like it, but a reasonable substitute) right now.


The following quote may be familiar to many of you … it’s very insightful and highlights a reality that I’ve seen all too many times in my own life. “… if we consider the unblushing promises of reward and the staggering nature of the rewards promised in the Gospels, it would seem that Our Lord finds our desires not too strong, but too weak. We are half-hearted creatures, fooling about with drink and sex and ambition when infinite joy is offered us, like an ignorant child who wants to go on making mud pies in a slum because he cannot imagine what is meant by the offer of a holiday at the sea. We are far too easily pleased.” ― C.S. Lewis, The Weight of Glory

I thought of this statement by Lewis this morning as I was reflecting on why my heart and mind seem to be so incapable of waiting in certain circumstances, especially when it comes to waiting on the Lord. My conclusion is that I don’t wait patiently for the Lord’s deliverance from the “slimy pit” or “mud and mire” that are the result of my sinful nature and living in a fallen world, because I have too much else at my disposal to “deliver” me. I move all too quickly to resolve a situation in my own strength or I fill my time with trivial pursuits that distract me and waste my time. I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve been snared by my iPhone with all its news updates, Apps, email, etc. that are readily at my disposal to “satisfy” me. If you’re anything like me, you need to remind yourself that only the Lord can lift us from the mud mire, set our feet upon a rock and give us a firm place to stand. The key to patiently waiting for Him is to be convinced of this truth – He is worth the wait. There is no one like our God!