Waiting (on God)

a short reflection

We often use the phrase "Wait on the Lord" to comfort those who are in a difficult season in life.

I am certain that I will see the Lord’s goodness
in the land of the living.
Wait for the Lord;
be strong and courageous.
Wait for the Lord.

-Psalm 27:13-14 (HCSB)

I believe that "waiting on the Lord" means for us to focus our hope in God and set our sights on the future, a future where his goodness will prevail. In times of distress, I applied this verse by turning to the Lord and yearning for the day when He would right the wrongs that afflicted me.

Recently I learned of another way to wait on the Lord. The concept of Messianic hope is integral to Jewish and Christian religion. For thousands of years, Jews faithfully awaited the coming of the Messiah. (As for us Christians, we've faithfully awaited His return.) Yeshayahu Leibowitz writes that

The profound religious meaning of the messianic idea consists in presenting a goal and a purpose towards which one must strive eternally.

-Yeshayahu Leibowitz, Judaism, Human Values, and the Jewish State

Expanding on this view, Rabbi Marc Shapiro describes Messianic hope with the image of Jews singing "we await the Messiah" as they are taken to the gas chambers. He places an emphasis on the waiting and hoping as good things. In fact, some Jewish thinkers would go as far as to say that the waiting is even better than what comes after.

While I don't agree with Leibowitz and Rabbi Shapiro's conclusions about Messianic hope, I think they both bring an important perspective that we Christians can learn from. Often we want to skip the "waiting" part of "waiting on the Lord." Dr. Jonny Rowlands, in his discussion with Rabbi Shapiro echoes this sentiment with the example of Easter, where we skip from Good Friday to Easter Sunday and often overlook Holy Saturday (a day of waiting, despair, and hope). I noticed that I am also guilty of skipping the "waiting" part.

Waiting on the Lord means putting our hope and trust in Him. But we shouldn't forget that the goodness of God prevails even during the waiting and during the despair. While we can echo David's despair during times of tribulations, we must also remember that David praised God and delighted in His works, even though His day had not yet come. The time of waiting is necessary and dare we say good, for "all things work together for the good of those who love God: those who are called according to His purpose." (Romans 8:28, HCSB).