Learning to Wait

The month of December is full of waiting—especially for children. For grown-ups, December is more likely to race by in a blur. But time crawls for children, as they wait for the last day of school, and wait for the big Christmas program, and wait for the trip to their grandparents’ house, and wait for Christmas morning. No matter what your age, waiting isn’t easy! Psalm 89 ends with a picture of how to wait well on the Lord.

In this big, long psalm, the most amazing verse is the last. After Ethan has gotten out his raw, honest complaint, he closes on a surprising note: “Blessed be Yahweh forever. Amen and Amen.” His circumstances are unchanged. His questions remain unanswered. His pain is still deep. But Ethan does not curse Yahweh and stomp off. He blesses Yahweh. He uses that same word that has throbbed throughout the psalm: forever. Then he seals his praise with a double “Amen.” He dries his eyes, straightens up, and goes back to work. The curtain falls on Psalm 89, and Book III of the Psalter.

Ethan has no idea how God could possibly keep his promise to David in the middle of this bleak mess. Furthermore—and this is key—Ethan knows that he may not see any resolution in his own lifetime. But since God said that he would do it, Ethan knows that somehow God will. In the end, faith is simply taking God at his Word. He teaches us a vital skill here: the Bible calls it “waiting on the Lord.” When you cannot fix or understand your painful circumstances. When the reality of your life seems to contradict what your Bible says about God’s forever love and faithfulness. In those moments, the Bible says that you do not have to pretend like everything is Christmas-card-perfect. You can get alone with God and pour out your heart, just like Ethan does in Psalm 89. But then you say, “Somehow, God, you are going to keep your promises. I trust you. And I will wait for you. Blessed be Yahweh. Amen and Amen.”

This is what all the faithful are doing when the curtain rises on the New Testament. There have been four hundred years of silence from God, and pagan Rome is grinding Judea down. But what are Elizabeth and Zechariah doing? “Walking blamelessly in all the commandments and statutes of the Lord (Luke 1:6).” Based on her song, Mary has committed most of the Old Testament to memory (Luke 1:46–55)! And the aged Anna and Simeon are “waiting on the consolation of Israel (Luke 2:25).” All of them are Psalm-89-believers: they had learned to wait on the Lord well.

Their faith is vindicated when Jesus appears. Walk back through yesterday’s reading, and you will recognize him: the anointed one of God who was cast off and rejected for us, given garments of shame, and mocked by his enemies, crying from the cross, “Where is your steadfast love and faithfulness you swore to David?” But he secures God’s promises when he rises from the dead. He is the King who reigns forever!

Christians call the season leading up to Christmas, “Advent,” from a Latin word that means “coming.” It’s a period of expectation, looking forward, and waiting. We remember what it was like for God’s faithful people to wait for the Messiah’s first coming. We also remind each other that we are still an “Advent” people, now waiting for Christ’s return, when the full glory of our salvation will be revealed (see Rom 8:18–30). Until then, we’ll have to do some waiting and some weeping. We’ll have to sing a few songs in the minor key. But when he appears, we will put them away “forever.”

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Article by Eric Smith
Senior Pastor, Sharon Baptist Church