Awaiting a thousand arrivals | Psalm 130

I would be interested in studying how much of the biblical story is characterized by “waiting.” There are a lot of examples to consider:

Noah waiting for the waters to subside.

Abram and Sarai waiting for Isaac.

Israel waiting for liberation.

Israel waiting to enter the Promised Land.

Israel waiting for restoration from exile.

Israel waiting for Messiah.

Even when the Messiah, Jesus of Nazareth, arrives:

He waits thirty years to begin his public ministry.

The disciples then wait for the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission.

After Jesus’ death, the disciples wait three days to discover he had risen.

After his ascension, the disciples wait for the provision of the Holy Spirit.

Even now, Jesus’ disciples wait for his return, and for the consummation of his kingdom.

It is important to mention that, in many of these examples, the period of waiting is neither a few moments nor a few days. It is years, decades, even multiple generations of waiting, and often in challenging circumstances. Israel was enslaved by the Egyptians for 400 years.

Do you understand that that is almost twice as long as there has been such a thing as the United States of America? I realize that represents one of the Bible’s more extreme examples but, be that as it may, we are presented with a stark contrast between the faith of our fathers and our own: To many modern believers, “waiting” is considered an abnormality. Throughout Scripture, however, “waiting” seems to be a norm.

God is responsive to us, but God does not answer to us. That distinction may seem subtle, but it is as wide as the ocean. Life with God requires waiting for God, not expecting God to submit to our timelines, but instead yielding to God’s timing. Some might read, “yielding,” as an act of defeat or apathy, however in the Bible it is presented as an act of trust. And in Psalm 130, the psalmist provides an interesting metaphor for that act. Psalm 130:5-6 reads:

I wait for the LORD,

my soul waits,

and in his word I hope;

my soul waits for the Lord

more than watchmen

for the morning,

more than watchmen

for the morning.

From this, two observations come to mind:

First, watchmen wait for the morning certain that the morning will come. Waiting for God is not spiritual handwringing, like those pacing the waiting room, eager to hear from a surgeon. “Did the operation succeed? Will my friend be alright?” Rather, it’s a husband waiting for the entrance of his bride. He’s sure she is coming, he’s sure she will be his, and he’s sure her loveliness will exceed anything he imagined. God is coming. God will act. We wait for one who is faithful! and when he arrives, our waiting will have seemed momentary.

Second, watchmen understand that, though the morning has come, it will nevertheless have to be awaited again. Until Christ returns, spiritual waiting never ceases. As the morning dawns, gives life, sets, and repeats, so God’s “arrivals” ebb and flow. We wait, God shows, we delight in him and his work, and then we wait for God again. Our lives are therefore like that of Abraham, going in the way God instructed, ever so often encountering his gracious provision, and letting that provision be what sustains and assures us as we wait for the next one. We are not therefore waiting for a one-off “morning.” Instead, we await a thousand arrivals, even as we’ve seen a thousand before. And each instance of God “showing up” in our lives gives us the confidence we need to assume the watch posts again, knowing, because we have experienced, that that “none who wait for the LORD shall be put to shame” (Ps. 25:3).

Andrew Barrett is the Pastor of Elkins Lake Baptist Church. Elkins Lake Baptist Church is a unique group of people committed to exalting Jesus for the sake of the world. He can be reached at [email protected].

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