I don’t know about you, but I really do not like to wait. When I am driving in traffic, I’m usually assessing the traffic in front of me to see which lane will be the fastest getting through a stop light. I do the same thing at the grocery store checkout. If I am expecting an important delivery, I will check my doors several times before it comes. And we all know there are much more serious things people wait for; health results, the reconciliation of a relationship or for someone to genuinely say the words I love you. Waiting can often feel weighty.
This Sunday is our One Church Service, and I am between sermon series, so I felt God direct me to share this message from Psalm 130 where the Psalmist says, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits.” Have you ever been, or are you in a place where you feel you are waiting for the Lord to do something in your life? It does not take long for our waiting to feel weighty, making us feel spent. On the journey of faith, the concept of movement is implied. When on a journey you move from one place to another. Sue and I have done a fair bit of hiking throughout our lives, and I can tell you any hike will include times of movement and times of waiting before the destination is reached. If movement were all we did on a hike we would miss the chance for hydration, nutrition, communication with others and the opportunity to see the beauty of the environment we are hiking. Times of waiting are needed both in the physical realm and in the spiritual realm.
Psalm 130 is an ascent Psalm the Israelites would sing on their way up to Jerusalem, from the depth of the valley to the heights of worshiping God. Join me this Sunday as this amazing text illuminates how The Weight of Waiting is something God wants to use in your journey of faith.