UNHURRY HACK: Waiting doesn’t have the appearance of doing much, but waiting in the Lord is a place of rest and trust while God in on the move.
FIRST READ: Psalm 62, Joshua 6
I don’t like to wait, do you? And our world apparently doesn’t either. Buy it now, same day shipping, groceries delivered in an hour, the list goes on. We want it now…Instant things make us feel like we are getting things done and accomplishing the stuff of life. So as we seek the Lord, we can accidentally seek the “now” nature of our world too.
Yet Psalm 62:1 (NLT) says, “I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him.” Our busy world today is full of noise and distraction; it is anything but quiet. So when I read the phrase “wait quietly” in the New Living Translation of this verse, it gives me pause. How do we wait quietly before God in today’s world?
Psalm 62:5 gives us a clue, “Let all than I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken” (NLT).
Waiting before the Lord:
Is whole hearted
Keeps eye on the true source of victory
Places hope in God, not in the world
Walks daily on firm foundation of God
Maintains confident identity in the Lord
Trusts God for protection
Waiting doesn’t have the appearance of doing much, but waiting upon the Lord in this place of rest and trust allows God to shake up the scene.
Waiting quietly upon the Lord builds unshakable faith that rests in His timing and listens for His voice. Psalm 62:1 in the NIV version says, Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. This waiting is a place of rest in God’s care and protection. It is trusting and entrusting. By His care and protection we experience God’s victory in His timing and in His power. While the waiting might seem empty, God is already on the move and getting ready to shake things up.
My favorite example of God shaking victory out of the waiting is Jericho. Jericho walls fell not by tireless chipping and stone removal, but following the Lord and entrusting the battle to Him...
As a leader Joshua did 3 things:
1. worshipped (Joshua 5:14)
2. trusted (Joshua 6:1-5),
3. obeyed God’s plan (Joshua 6:6-7)
Joshua assembled men around the ark of the covenant with priests leading the way and sounded victory from a Ram’s horn, but instructed the people not to say a word until they were signaled to shout. They were to wait and trust the Lord.
For six days they took one lap around the city. Then on the seventh day and final lap…
When the trumpets sounded, the army shouted, and at the sound of the trumpet, when the men gave a loud shout, the wall collapsed; so everyone charged straight in, and they took the city (Joshua 6:20)...
Victory comes when we wait quietly upon the Lord. What if they had been too distracted or fearful to listen? What if they had rushed ahead of the ark? What if they had jumped ahead and blew the ram’s horn to early? What if they had stormed the walls? Impatience and distraction is nothing new, but such blessing awaits when we wait upon the Lord! Impatience, pride, fear, confusion, frustration, exhaustion, worry, distrust, complacency…are just a few of the things that get in the way of our waiting.
We have been led to believe that we can do anything if we put our mind to it, and we have been taught that where there is a will there is a way. But without God’s mind and God’s will we are only led astray. Waiting on God’s timing is hard! I get it. I don’t like to wait either. As our world teaches us more rhythms of less waiting, the harder I think it will be to practice waiting on the Lord. Our flesh will want to reject it more and demand the immediate.
I don’t like to waste time. But I am learning that waiting quietly upon the Lord is not wasting time. It is worship and communion with our Lord as we sit at His feet until He speaks. It is humility as we seek God more for our answers and next step. It is peace as we rest in His care. Worship, communion, wisdom, guidance, peace…these are all BLESSINGS from God.
Maybe just maybe waiting upon the Lord is one more way that God allows us to experience His presence. If you are waiting today on answers today, remember that like Jericho, today’s steps are preparing for tomorrow’s victory. Today instead of tirelessly forcing things into action let God shake His victory into the landscape by His hand, His power, and His timing.
If you are waiting on answers today, remember that like Jericho, today’s steps are preparing for tomorrow’s victory.
How do we wait quietly before the Lord? One day at a time it is resting in unshakable faith and surrender. It is not about checking out, but about checking in! It is daily worship, trust, and obedience, for my victory comes from Him.
