“Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait upon the LORD.” (Psalms 27:14)
The Bible tells us to be patient and wait upon the Lord. But this is often easier said than done. Consider this illustration.
Have you ever tried to talk to a baby? Trying to communicate with a six-month old baby using the English language is an exercise in futility. The child simply has no earthly idea what you are saying. The baby may be able to sense your intentions, or your mood, but that is the extent of your attempts at two-way communication. However, children certainly have a way of communicating with adults. When they are happy, they coo and smile. When they are tired, they become cranky. And when they are upset, they scream.
As a proud Daddy of a beautiful six month old baby boy, I can certainly testify to the fact that communicating with a small child requires a lot of creativity.
Recently, my newborn son became extremely upset and decided to let everyone know about it. It had been about three hours since he had last eaten and he decided that he was not going to wait patiently any longer. He wanted to eat, and he wanted to eat NOW! As the baby began to scream at the top of his lungs for food, my wife and I were still a few miles from our house. We immediately stopped what we were doing and made a mad dash back home. All the way home my wife and I tried to calm the poor child using our best ‘baby-talk.’ Needless to say, he was not impressed.
But in my attempts to calm my son down, I got a sense of how God views His children in our times of crisis. My baby son had a legitimate need. He was hungry. But due to his inability to understand my intentions through my words he acted as if the world was going to end.
Have you ever done that with God? Have you ever been in a real jam only to cry out to him with no immediate response?
So there we were driving our car home as quickly as possible with a little baby screaming in the backseat. His piercing cries were proof that he thought everyone was oblivious to his desperation.
Of course, there was no way for me to communicate to him that we were heading straight home to fix his (and my) problem. In vain, my wife and I tried to soothe our son’s hunger pangs and explain to him that we were almost home and soon everything would be okay.
When we finally arrived home, my wife immediately fed him. Suddenly, all was right in the world.
What struck me was how little he understood that my wife and I truly wanted to help him. But he had no way of understanding that food was coming soon.
This was a big lesson to me. It showed me how we must often appear to God in our times of distress.
Today, you may have problems. You may even have some really big problems. But when you “cry” out to your heavenly Father, take heart in knowing that He hears you. If there seems to be a delay in His answer to your cries, have patience. Wait upon the Lord. As the psalmist says: “Be strong and let your heart take courage.”
Strive to listen closely to the voice of God. He is speaking directly to you. And you can tune into that voice if you will allow your faith to replace your fears. Your Heavenly Father knows what you need. He is not slack concerning His promises and is not oblivious to your hurts. He knows our pains and is intimately aware of our sufferings. He loves you. And as you learn to wait upon the Lord, always remember that He will never forget you. You are his child. So be patient and wait upon the Lord.
Prayer: “Lord, thank you for watching over me with a Father’s eye and loving me with a Father’s love. Teach me how to wait upon you. I trust you and know that you know what is best for me.”
