Waiting is Hard

Psalm 37:34 “Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it.”

Waiting on the Lord is one of the most difficult things to do. As I experience increasing hostility to the gospel of Christ and the unfolding reality of the “love of most growing cold” (Matthew 24:12), I really don’t want to wait much longer for Jesus to return and make all things new, do you?

Still, I know that the Lord is very patient and not willing for anyone to perish. In His great patience, He is showing me how to wait. Jesus says (Matthew 10:16), “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be a shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.” This is what I will do while I am waiting – trust God to give me deeper discernment and keener insight into the motives and intentions of those around me. I will pray for clarity of mind and spirit. I will also pray for those who persecute believers and ask God to empower believers to respond always with the graciousness of Christ.

I recently heard Ravi Zacharias speak at the Commonwealth Prayer Breakfast in Richmond, Virginia on January 13, 20016. He told a personal story about his daughter when she was very young. She asked a guard for a glass of lemonade at a bridge of passage between two hostile territories in the Middle East. Amazingly, the guard not only provided the lemonade, but also provided a car and personal escort of the family across the bridge. The graciousness of Christ is at the same time truthful and disarming. The little girl’s dovelike demeanor was disarming in the midst of hostility.

God promises to cut off the wicked. While waiting, build disarming bridges.