Today, I am reminded that waiting before the Lord is not a natural inclination. I ran across this poem written by Kelfer entitled, “Wait,” in 2009. It spoke to my heart then and still does.
Wait
Desperately, helplessly, longingly, I cried;
Quietly, patiently, lovingly, God replied.
I pled and I wept for a clue to my fate . . .
And the Master so gently said, “Wait.”“Wait? you say wait?” my indignant reply.
“Lord, I need answers, I need to know why!
Is your hand shortened? Or have you not heard?
By faith I have asked, and I’m claiming your Word.“My future and all to which I relate
Hangs in the balance, and you tell me to wait?
I’m needing a ‘yes’, a go-ahead sign,
Or even a ‘no’ to which I can resign.“You promised, dear Lord, that if we believe,
We need but to ask, and we shall receive.
And Lord I’ve been asking, and this is my cry:
I’m weary of asking! I need a reply.”Then quietly, softly, I learned of my fate,
As my Master replied again, “Wait.”
So I slumped in my chair, defeated and taut,
And grumbled to God, “So, I’m waiting for what?”He seemed then to kneel, and His eyes met with mine . . .
and He tenderly said, “I could give you a sign.
I could shake the heavens and darken the sun.
I could raise the dead and cause mountains to run.“I could give all you seek and pleased you would be.
You’d have what you want, but you wouldn’t know Me.
The poem continues, but this last phrase causes me to pause. It is not more signs and miracles that we need. As significant as Bible reading, study, and even the deep study of theology are, they do not replace knowing and loving the Savior. That’s why I want to read the gospels over and over this summer … praying as I read, “Let me know You better!”
Show me your ways, O LORD,
Teach me your paths;
Guide me in your truth and teach me,
For you are God my Savior,
And my hope is in you all day long.
(Psalm 25:4-5)
Prayer
In today’s prayer, I borrow a line from Ken Gire’s poetry –
Help me, God,
To have insight into the nocturnal language of the soul,
with its wide variety of images and richly textured emotions.
Teach me how to long for You,
how to yearn for Your presence.
May I find solace in your word,
in the revelation of yourself given to us in creation,
and in fellow image-bearers.
I pray with the Psalmist today,
“How lovely is your dwelling place,
Lord Almighty! My soul yearns,
even faints, for the courts of the Lord;
my heart and my flesh cry out for the living God.”
I’m reminded, Lord, that You also yearn,
longing to be gracious to us!
Thank You that You rise to show us compassion.
Thank You that You are a God of justice
and that You bless all who wait for You!
Set our souls on fire with the spirit of Your LOVE!
Amen.
