Waiting, Longing, Waiting, Longing ……… Day 20

Please Read Psalm 62:1-8

Born and raised in India, I am used to long lines and waiting. Hours and hours, I used to stand in lines for cooking oil, sugar, kerosene, movie tickets(for my aunts and uncles), bus stops, train stations, etc. On the other hand, my daughters, who were born in the USA, do not like any type of waiting - at the doctor’s office, plane delays, etc.

But the truth is, one way or another our lives are awash in waiting. While there are no breadlines or lines for other essentials in the USA, people do wait in rush hour traffic, at traffic lights, checkout lines, at the movie theaters etc.  

There is another type of waiting and longing that subsists in the world, a waiting and longing that most residents of the Western countries are not aware of. There are many impoverished Christians in the world who are also persecuted for their faith, and they are eagerly waiting for heaven where there will be no tears, fears, subjugation or persecution.  Meanwhile most Western Christians, including those in the USA, do not wait or long for heaven because they have heaven right here on earth with their freedoms and prosperity.

In Psalm 62  King David writes, “For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.” ( v. 1). The same idea is repeated in verse 5 – “ For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.” As King of God’s people and nation, David has everything that any man could ask for. At the same time, he is surrounded by people of  “falsehood” who “bless with their mouths, inwardly they curse.” He also knows they are waiting for opportune time to “thrust him down from his high position.”  So how does he react? David waits in silence, patiently, knowing his future is secure with God – and how others think, plot and act does not matter to him.

Dear brother/sister in Christ: how should you react to people of “falsehood” in your own life? By focusing on Jesus and your everlasting future with him.

Heavenly Father: help me not to focus on those who bless and inwardly curse me at the same time. Equip me to forgive them. But above all, teach me to wait and long for the eternity I will be spending with you forever because of Jesus’ death and resurrection. Amen.