Patiently, Expectantly Waiting

To the choirmaster: according to Jeduthun. A Psalm of David.

1 For God alone my soul waits in silence;
    from him comes my salvation.
2 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken.

3 How long will all of you attack a man
    to batter him,
    like a leaning wall, a tottering fence?
4 They only plan to thrust him down from his high position.
    They take pleasure in falsehood.
They bless with their mouths,
    but inwardly they curse. Selah

5 For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence,
    for my hope is from him.
6 He only is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress; I shall not be shaken.
7 On God rests my salvation and my glory;
    my mighty rock, my refuge is God.

8 Trust in him at all times, O people;
    pour out your heart before him;
    God is a refuge for us. Selah

9 Those of low estate are but a breath;
    those of high estate are a delusion;
in the balances they go up;
    they are together lighter than a breath.
10 Put no trust in extortion;
    set no vain hopes on robbery;
    if riches increase, set not your heart on them.

11 Once God has spoken;
    twice have I heard this:
that power belongs to God,
12     and that to you, O Lord, belongs steadfast love.
For you will render to a man
    according to his work. – Psalm 62:1-12 ESV

In this psalm, David repeatedly refers to God as his fortress, rock, refuge, and salvation. As a man well acquainted with the fugitive lifestyle, David uses terms that evoke his days on the run from King Saul. During those difficult years of his life, David sought safety by hiding in caves located in the difficult-to-access terrain of the rugged Judean wilderness. Those inaccessible geographic locales had provided him with a sense of security and rest from Saul’s relentless campaign to have him killed.

But in this psalm, David describes God as his ultimate source of solitude, solace, and security. The short descriptor that opens Psalm 62 provides no context to explain what happened in David’s life that caused him to pen its words. Some have speculated that it was written after David abandoned Jerusalem after his son Absalom conducted a successful coup to replace him as king.

A messenger soon arrived in Jerusalem to tell David, “All Israel has joined Absalom in a conspiracy against you!”

“Then we must flee at once, or it will be too late!” David urged his men. “Hurry! If we get out of the city before Absalom arrives, both we and the city of Jerusalem will be spared from disaster.”

“We are with you,” his advisers replied. “Do what you think is best.”

So the king and all his household set out at once. He left no one behind except ten of his concubines to look after the palace. The king and all his people set out on foot, pausing at the last house to let all the king’s men move past to lead the way. There were 600 men from Gath who had come with David, along with the king’s bodyguard. – 2 Samuel 15:13-18 NLT

When Absalom entered Jerusalem and established himself as the new king, one of the first things he did was sexually violate the ten concubines David had left behind. He committed this heinous act under the advisement of Ahithophel, David's former counselor, who had taken part in the coup.

Ahithophel told him, “Go and sleep with your father’s concubines, for he has left them here to look after the palace. Then all Israel will know that you have insulted your father beyond hope of reconciliation, and they will throw their support to you.” So they set up a tent on the palace roof where everyone could see it, and Absalom went in and had sex with his father’s concubines. – 2 Samuel 15:21-22 NLT

It is unclear whether this event prompted David to write Psalm 62, but it illustrates the perfect-storm conditions that would have led David to turn to God for help and hope. Even as David abandoned his capital, he was confronted by a relative of King Saul who decided to kick him while he was down. Shimei was still angry that David had supplanted Saul as the king of Israel and stolen the crown from the tribe of Benjamin.

“Get out of here, you murderer, you scoundrel!” he shouted at David. “The Lord is paying you back for all the bloodshed in Saul’s clan. You stole his throne, and now the Lord has given it to your son Absalom. At last you will taste some of your own medicine, for you are a murderer!” – 2 Samuel 16:7-8 NLT

When one of David's men offered to silence Shimei by cutting off his head, David expressed his consternation and confusion over the situation. Still, he refused to take matters into his own hands.

“My own son is trying to kill me. Doesn’t this relative of Saul have even more reason to do so? Leave him alone and let him curse, for the Lord has told him to do it. And perhaps the Lord will see that I am being wronged and will bless me because of these curses today.” So David and his men continued down the road, and Shimei kept pace with them on a nearby hillside, cursing and throwing stones and dirt at David.

The king and all who were with him grew weary along the way, so they rested when they reached the Jordan River. – 2 Samuel 16:11-14 NLT

That last line is important because it states that David “rested” when he reached the Jordan. He and his entourage had walked the 21 miles from Jerusalem to the eastern border of Israel. But when they arrived, they found rest. The opening lines of this psalm reflect that this was likely far more than a physical form of restoration.

I wait quietly before God,
    for my victory comes from him.
He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will never be shaken. – Psalm 62:1-2 NLT

David had time to reflect on his circumstances and remind himself that God had seen him through far worse conditions in the past, and He could do so again. David was not underestimating the severity of his problem. He knew he was in trouble and refused to downplay the dire nature of his circumstance.

So many enemies against one man—
    all of them trying to kill me.
To them I’m just a broken-down wall
    or a tottering fence.
They plan to topple me from my high position.
    They delight in telling lies about me.
They praise me to my face
    but curse me in their hearts. – Psalm 62:3-4 NLT

Yet, despite his doubts and fears, David decided to trust God for the outcome.

Let all that I am wait quietly before God,
    for my hope is in him. – Psalm 62:5 NLT

He placed his confidence in God and encouraged his discouraged followers to do the same.

O my people, trust in him at all times.
    Pour out your heart to him,
    for God is our refuge. – Psalm 62:6 NLT

This psalm was written in the heat of the moment, when all felt lost and the future was uncertain. David had no way of knowing the outcome of his circumstances, but he was willing to trust in God's sovereignty and wait for God to do what only He could do.

For most of us, waiting on God is viewed as some kind of punishment or penance we must pay for our bad behavior. We view it as if God is somehow holding out on us, making us sweat and suffer as He delays in giving us what we want to teach us a lesson. But that perspective is based on a faulty view of God. He is not some petty deity using His power maliciously or malevolently to force us to do His bidding. He is a loving, patient, and merciful God whose actions are always driven by His care and concern for us.

If God were withholding what we needed to punish us or teach us a lesson, what kind of God would He be? Jesus pointed this out when He said, “You parents—if your children ask for a loaf of bread, do you give them a stone instead? Or if they ask for a fish, do you give them a snake? Of course not! So if you sinful people know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give good gifts to those who ask him” (Matthew 7:9-11 NLT).

Does that mean we always get what we ask for, and does it come exactly when we expect it? Of course not. God is still God. He is all-knowing and aware of things that are beyond our ability to comprehend. He has a “big picture view” of things we don’t possess. He is not bound by space and time and knows the past, present, and future equally well. He is not limited by our decisions or bad choices but is in control at all times. At no point is God up in heaven wringing His hands in disbelief because He was somehow caught off guard by the events or circumstances surrounding our lives.

So David says, “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from Him” (Psalm 62:1 NLT). I love how The Message paraphrases that verse: “God, the one and only – I’ll wait as long as he says. Everything I need comes from him, so why not?”

I’ll wait as long as he says. Why? Because He knows best and He has my best in mind. He is my hope and salvation. He is my help and source of healing. He has a plan for my life that is perfect and complete. So David reminds us, “O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge” (Psalm 62:8 NLT). Trust in him at all times. Not just in the good times, but at all times. Even when things seem to be going poorly. Even when it appears as if He is nowhere to be found. Even when everything goes against you and everyone seems to be deserting you. Wait quietly and trust Him. It is in those moments of waiting and trusting that we truly come to know who He really is. As we quietly, patiently wait, He reminds us of His love and then rewards us with His perfect answer at the ideal time. What we need is NOT the answer we’re hoping for, but the God who provides the answer. We need to know Him better. We need to trust Him more. We need to patiently wait and eagerly anticipate an answer because we understand the character of our God. His love never fails.

Father, thank You for the moments of waiting that come into my life on a regular basis. Thank You for teaching me to rely on You and not the world around me. May I continue to learn to wait patiently and expectantly on You because I believe You have my best in mind, in spite of what I see happening around me. Amen

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001 by Crossway Bibles, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers.

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

Give God Glory Rather Than Advice

19 “Where is the way to the dwelling of light,
    and where is the place of darkness,
20 that you may take it to its territory
    and that you may discern the paths to its home?
21 You know, for you were born then,
    and the number of your days is great!

22 “Have you entered the storehouses of the snow,
    or have you seen the storehouses of the hail,
23 which I have reserved for the time of trouble,
    for the day of battle and war?
24 What is the way to the place where the light is distributed,
    or where the east wind is scattered upon the earth?

25 “Who has cleft a channel for the torrents of rain
    and a way for the thunderbolt,
26 to bring rain on a land where no man is,
    on the desert in which there is no man,
27 to satisfy the waste and desolate land,
    and to make the ground sprout with grass?

28 “Has the rain a father,
    or who has begotten the drops of dew?
29 From whose womb did the ice come forth,
    and who has given birth to the frost of heaven?
30 The waters become hard like stone,
    and the face of the deep is frozen.

31 “Can you bind the chains of the Pleiades
    or loose the cords of Orion?
32 Can you lead forth the Mazzaroth in their season,
    or can you guide the Bear with its children?
33 Do you know the ordinances of the heavens?
    Can you establish their rule on the earth?

34 “Can you lift up your voice to the clouds,
    that a flood of waters may cover you?
35 Can you send forth lightnings, that they may go
    and say to you, ‘Here we are’?
36 Who has put wisdom in the inward parts
    or given understanding to the mind?
37 Who can number the clouds by wisdom?
    Or who can tilt the waterskins of the heavens,
38 when the dust runs into a mass
    and the clods stick fast together?

39 “Can you hunt the prey for the lion,
    or satisfy the appetite of the young lions,
40 when they crouch in their dens
    or lie in wait in their thicket?
41 Who provides for the raven its prey,
    when its young ones cry to God for help,
    and wander about for lack of food?” – Job 38:19-41 ESV

God finally speaks. Job has heard from his three friends and Elihu, the young, arrogant upstart. But now he hears from the only one who matters; God Himself. And God's response is full of not-so-subtle sarcasm as He peppers Job with rhetorical questions designed to accentuate His divine nature. He starts out His response to Job by saying, "Brace yourself, because I have some questions for you, and you must answer them" (Job 38:3 NLT). God tells Job to brace himself like a man because He has a few questions for him. "Who are you...?" "Where were you when..." "Have you ever...?" "Can you...?" "Do you know...?"

At one point, God's sarcasm becomes painfully clear and pointed. He sardonically states, "But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!" (Job 38:21 NLT).

God is questioning Job’s right to question Him. Who is Job, a mere man, to question the intentions and integrity of the holy, righteous, all-powerful, God of the universe? Every one of His questions is a statement of His sovereignty and superiority. He is providing Job and his four friends with a much-needed reminder of His surpassing greatness. God’s emphasis on nature is intended to get Job’s focus off of himself. His myopic and rather morbid perspective has tainted his view of God, and produced faulty reasoning and a fragile faith.

“The function of the questions needs to be properly understood. As a rhetorical device, a question can be another way of making a pronouncement, much favoured by orators. For Job, the questions in the Lord’s speeches are not such roundabout statements of fact; they are invitations, suggestions about discoveries he will make as he tries to find his own answers. They are not catechetical, as if Job’s knowledge is being tested. They are educative, in the true and original meaning of that term. Job is led out into the world. The questions are rhetorical only in the sense that none of them has any answer ventured by Job. But this is not because the questions have no answers. Their initial effect of driving home to Job his ignorance is not intended to humiliate him. On the contrary the highest nobility of every person is to be thus enrolled by God Himself in His school of Wisdom. And the schoolroom is the world! For Job the exciting discoveries to which God leads him bring a giant advance in knowledge, knowledge of himself and of God, for the two always go together in the Bible.” – Francis I. Andersen,
Job

By drawing Job’s attention to the wonders of creation, God is showcasing His power and providential care. There are wonders surrounding Job that reveal just how great and good God really is. The presence of light and dark are the handiwork of God. From the human perspective, these elements simply appear in the sky and little thought is given as to their source. But God demands that Job explain where light comes from and where the darkness goes in the morning. Then He sarcastically adds, “But of course you know all this! For you were born before it was all created, and you are so very experienced!” (Job 38:21 NLT).

God is not being mean; He is simply driving home the extents of the vast gulf between His own reality and man’s infallibility. He wants Job to contemplate the inconceivable greatness of the One who controls the entire universe and all it contains, including Job. 

Job wants answer from God. He demands to know the source of his own pain and suffering, but God asks him, “Where is the path to the source of light? Where is the home of the east wind?” (Job 38:24 NLT). God is letting Job know that there are greater questions to consider other than the ones he keeps asking. If Job wants to understand the nature of his circumstances he needs to know his God, and a quick look at the creative order would provide Job a masters-level course in theology.

King David had graduated with honors from God’s divine school of wisdom, having learned the lessons of God’s greatness found in the world around him.

The heavens proclaim the glory of God.
    The skies display his craftsmanship.
Day after day they continue to speak;
    night after night they make him known.
They speak without a sound or word;
    their voice is never heard.
Yet their message has gone throughout the earth,
    and their words to all the world. – Psalm 19:1 NLT

And it was Jesus who used nature to teach His disciples the wonder of God’s providential care so that they might understand His unwavering faithfulness and their need for enduring faith.

“That is why I tell you not to worry about everyday life—whether you have enough food and drink, or enough clothes to wear. Isn’t life more than food, and your body more than clothing? Look at the birds. They don’t plant or harvest or store food in barns, for your heavenly Father feeds them. And aren’t you far more valuable to him than they are? Can all your worries add a single moment to your life?

“And why worry about your clothing? Look at the lilies of the field and how they grow. They don’t work or make their clothing, yet Solomon in all his glory was not dressed as beautifully as they are. And if God cares so wonderfully for wildflowers that are here today and thrown into the fire tomorrow, he will certainly care for you. Why do you have so little faith?” – Matthew 6:25-30 NLT

God turns Job’s attention to the clouds that produce rain, ice, hail, thunder, and lightning. These everyday, commonplace meteorological events are not the result of chance but are the handiwork of God. The very presence of rain is a reminder of God’s faithfulness. Without it, nothing on earth would survive. Yet, God can turn life-giving rain into crop-destroying hail. He can transform a gentle rain into a torrential, flood-producing downpour that takes away life and livelihood. These kinds of occurrences are an inexplicable yet inescapable part of life on this planet, and so is human suffering.

God’s point seems to be that there are some things men will never fully comprehend. Despite our modern scientific capabilities and our incessant obsession with solving the riddle of the universe’s creation, there are certain aspects of God’s creative order that will remain a mystery to us. Job was earth-bound and suffered from a limited understanding of the heavens. He could see the stars and even know some of them by name, but he could not explain their existence or comprehend the magnitude of their number.

In a sense, Job had been trying to give God directions concerning the future of his own life. He wanted to provide the God of the universe with some helpful guidance regarding his future state. But God asks Job if he has any insight into the “the movement of the stars” (Job 38:31 NLT). If Job knows that is best for himself, can he also “direct the constellations through the seasons?” (Job 38:32 NLT). And the answer is clearly, “No!”

Job has no business giving God advice. He is in no place to tell God what to do. And to ensure that Job understands that point, God asks, “Do you know the laws of the universe? Can you use them to regulate the earth?” (Job 38:33 NLT). If the answer is no, then why does Job seem to believe he knows the laws concerning his own universe and how they should be used to regulate the affairs of his life?

Sometimes, a simple upward glance will help take our eyes off of the worries and concerns we face in this world. The prophet Isaiah echoes the words of God and provides a much-needed reminder to reminder to acknowledge the greatness of God rather than attempt to advise Him.

Who else has held the oceans in his hand?
    Who has measured off the heavens with his fingers?
Who else knows the weight of the earth
    or has weighed the mountains and hills on a scale?
Who is able to advise the Spirit of the Lord?
    Who knows enough to give him advice or teach him?
Has the Lord ever needed anyone’s advice?
    Does he need instruction about what is good?
Did someone teach him what is right
    or show him the path of justice? – Isaiah 40:12-14 NLT

And Isaiah recommends that we consider a bit of star-gazing before we resort to advice-giving. God doesn’t need our recommendations, but He is worthy of our veneration.

Look up into the heavens.
    Who created all the stars?
He brings them out like an army, one after another,
    calling each by its name.
Because of his great power and incomparable strength,
    not a single one is missing. – Isaiah 40:33 NLT

English Standard Version (ESV) The Holy Bible, English Standard Version. ESV® Permanent Text Edition® (2016). Copyright © 2001

New Living Translation (NLT) Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.