Today’s Spiritual Food for Thought, provided by Christine Li, was first posted on August 3, 2014.  Christine, a graduate of University of Pennsylvania, serves as a deaconess at Remnant Church in Manhattan, New York.

Spiritual Food for Thought for the Weekend

“Waiting . . .”

Psalm 60: 6-10

“God has spoken from his sanctuary: ‘In triumph I will parcel out Shechem and measure off the Valley of Sukkoth. 7 Gilead is mine, and Manasseh is mine; Ephraim is my helmet, Judah is my scepter. 8 Moab is my washbasin, on Edom I toss my sandal; over Philistia I shout in triumph.’ 9 Who will bring me to the fortified city? Who will lead me to Edom? 10 Is it not you, God, you who have now rejected us and no longer go out with our armies?”

Isn’t it hard to wait on God’s promises sometimes? At least, I personally have a hard time waiting.

In this passage, Israel had been defeated by her enemy, yet David reminds himself (and others) of God’s promise to deliver the land into Israel’s hands. Taking heart in this prophecy, David is able to boldly ask God for the victory and trust that God will bring it to fruition, even though Israel had suffered a loss.

Often times, God gives us assurance of something and then proceeds to have us wait before He brings it to pass. He even allows one, two, or many defeats to occur along the way as well! I wish I could say that with every time God has me wait for something, it becomes easier, but that is not always the case. My impatience was and is always at war with my faith in how loving and good God is.

No matter the circumstance, waiting can be difficult, and it is tempting to react in certain ways. One temptation for me is to seemingly behave, to say I’m fully surrendered, as a way to bargain for Him to hurry up because I have learned my lesson already. A second temptation is to doubt Him and question His love and kindness in my impatience. What ends up happening is that my desire to draw near to God grows colder. When the circumstances in my heart overcome what I know in my mind about the LORD, my fears increase, and my ability to honestly come before Him decreases.

When those temptations come, let’s remind ourselves of David’s example here in trusting that God will surely fulfill what He has promised. Let’s surrender our fears to our loving and faithful God who has given us extensive evidence of His faithfulness up to this moment. Let’s remember that the Word we read gives us a solid, extensive account of His faithfulness to His people, and let’s trust Him to use our lives as a backdrop for His faithfulness as well.

What is it that you have asked for and He has promised? Has it become increasingly hard to wait on Him? On this Sunday, even when you cannot stand firm in your trust in Him, let us still worship Him together. Let’s come before our faithful Father with open hearts, and let’s ask Him to change our impatient waiting into a contented trusting. He will surely use our lives to display His faithfulness.

Prayer: LORD, thank You for Your provision in my life thus far. Today, I need Your help to walk by faith and not by sight! Please supply me with greater faith to testify of Your faithfulness and provision, even when I have not received, and help me to believe that You are indeed true to Your word and Your promises.

Bible Reading for Today: Romans 12