Why, O LORD, do you stand far off? Why do you hide yourself in times of trouble? 2 In his arrogance the wicked man hunts down the weak, who are caught in the schemes he devises. 3 He boasts of the cravings of his heart; he blesses the greedy and reviles the LORD. 4 In his pride the wicked does not seek him; in all his thoughts there is no room for God. 5 His ways are always prosperous; he is haughty and your laws are far from him; he sneers at all his enemies.

One of the most difficult things that God asks us to do is to trust him in time of trouble and then wait on his deliverance. Too many of us as adults remind me of my six year old grandson who often says to me: “but granddaddy, I can’t wait”. Isaiah tells us in Isaiah 40:31: But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint. There are many examples of men and women of faith who waited on the Lord. Abraham and his barren wife Sarah waited many years to have the son that God had promised. They even devised a plan to “help” God by using Hagar (Sarah’s maiden) to have a son for them. God told them that this son was not the fulfillment of his promise – they would have a son.

Often we cry out to God and in our restless anguish we don’t see the answer come storming at us so we assume that God does not hear. We, like the Psalmist, seem to think that God is afar off or is hiding from us. God has promised us, as his children, that he does indeed hear us when we ask according to his will. (I Jn. 5:14) But why does God make us wait?

It is in our waiting that we grow spiritually. It is thru waiting on the Lord that we learn to really trust him. It is waiting that makes us yield our will to his and allows him to have control over us.

Consider Joseph, who as a cocky teenager, so full of himself, was sold by his brothers as a slave. After about fifteen years as a slave and as a prisoner in a foreign land, God had prepared him to do his work. Can you imagine how many nights Joseph cried himself to sleep and wondered where his God had gone and why he did not listen to his cry? Yet, in the end, it was thru this tragic event in his life that he was able to save his entire family from famine.

O God, please increase my faith so that I can wait on you. Forgive my impatience. As I humbly wait, fill my heart with your Spirit and teach me to trust you more. Empty me of my pride and make me boast only in the cross of Jesus my Lord and my savior. Help me to put aside my own problems and use me to help others deal with theirs. Use me to encourage those who are struggling and to lift up those who have fallen. I pray in the name of Jesus.

May God bless each of us as we trust him and wait on him.