“The Lord is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the Lord” (Lamentations 3:25–26).
“Wait.” Most of the time we don’t like to hear that word, do we? Sometimes we are looking forward to something, like a vacation or a birthday, because we know that something fun or exciting is going to happen. When we have to wait for this type of event, it seems like forever before it comes. But it’s just as hard to wait for something to be over as it is for something that we want to happen. For example, when we are in the dentist chair getting a tooth drilled to fill a cavity, it seems to take a very long time, doesn’t it? No matter what, it’s hard to wait!
Lamentations 3:25 and 26 were written by a prophet named Jeremiah. A prophet was called by God to bring God’s people a special message from Him. Sometimes the people the prophet spoke to were not nice, because they did not want to hear what God had to say. They wanted to keep living the way they wanted to live, instead of living God’s way. That’s what happened to Jeremiah. One time, people threw him into an empty cistern (“a pit that can hold water”). Jeremiah did not have an easy life, but in these verses he writes, “The Lord is good unto them that wait for him.” Jeremiah understood that sometimes waiting, even though it’s hard to do, is really God’s way of showing good to us.
How can waiting be good? We must remember that God is always working for our good, even if we must wait for something that we really want, or even when we must wait for a hard time to be over. If God is always working for our good, then what should we do as we wait for Him? Lamentations 3:25 and 26 say we should first seek God. That means we need to talk to Him through prayer. Don’t be afraid to tell God how hard it is to wait. Ask Him to give you the faith you need to trust Him while you wait. These verses also tell us we should wait quietly and expect God to help us. Waiting quietly means that we don’t complain or fight against what God is trying to do for us. That’s sometimes very hard, but God’s timing is different from our timing. As we wait for Him quietly and with faith that He will work things for our good, our faith will grow. This pleases the Lord. So, the next time you must wait for something, remember that God is working for your good, even though it may be hard to wait.
When God makes us wait, waiting is what’s best for us.
My response:
» When I must wait for something, will I seek God by praying to Him?
» When I must wait for something, I will not complain. I will trust God instead!