14 May 2020
“I wish it need not have happened in my time,” said Frodo.
“So do I,” said Gandalf, “and so do all who live to see such times. But that is not for them to decide. All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us.”
(J.R.R. Tolkien, “The Fellowship of the Ring”)
Well said, Gandalf! – but it begs the question: what are we doing with the time that is given us?
Israel’s King David also recognized a universal truth about his own time and his life when he prayed, “My times are in your hands” (Psalm 31:15). At present, our time is to wait on the Lord. This will pass, but it is what has been given to us right now – waiting, waiting, waiting.
Psalm 40:1-5 teaches us about waiting on the Lord.
1 I waited patiently for the LORD;
he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
and gave me a firm place to stand.
3 He put a new song in my mouth,
a hymn of praise to our God.
Many will see and fear the LORD
and put their trust in him.
4 Blessed is the one
who trusts in the LORD,
who does not look to the proud,
to those who turn aside to false gods.
5 Many, LORD my God,
are the wonders you have done,
the things you planned for us.
None can compare with you;
were I to speak and tell of your deeds,
they would be too many to declare.
In these verses we see three kinds of waiting. First, we are to wait patiently. Waiting means waiting! As we wait for the Lord in our current situation, we do not expect an instant or immediate change to our circumstances. Across the world, total or partial lockdowns and physical distancing remain in place with political leaders suggesting we are in this for the long haul. So patient waiting is our lot; it’s the characteristic of our time! And it’s a discipline that needs to be learned, as a matter of the will. Let us embrace this forced restraint and learn to enjoy times of fellowship with God, by listening to his voice and sensing his presence.
Then as we practice waiting patiently, we will discover that we must wait reflectively. Reflective waiting can move us from helplessness to hopefulness. We see what God has already done. David noted that he had been taken from a slippery place to a solid place, where his feet were firmly standing on a rock. Are my feet on a rock? What is the foundation of my life – what am I relying on? Our rock, our sure foundation, is Christ; anything else is slippery and dangerous. As we wait and reflect, the old hymn reminds us,
My hope is built on nothing less than Jesus Christ, my righteousness…
On Christ, the solid Rock I stand; all other ground is sinking sand.
Throughout these difficult weeks, if we have been learning to wait patiently and reflectively, then we will begin to wait exaltingly. Our hearts will “sing a new song… a hymn of praise to our God” (verse 3). We sense that, “none can compare with [God].” If we “speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare” (verse 5). Patient, reflective waiting on the Lord leads to praise from our hearts that rises up to our lips!
Patient and reflective waiting takes our focus away from ourselves and turns our thoughts towards the Lord. There is recognition of what he has already done, what he is doing and what he will do. Our hearts move from anxiety and fear, to exaltation and worship. Another hymn captures the thought:
Count your blessings, name them one by one;
Count your many blessings, see what God hath done.
And there’s an outcome: it is not only that we intentionally persevere, that we meditate on the Lord and that we praise his name, but that other people notice this change in our lives and our witness: “many will see and fear the LORD and put their trust in him” (verse 3). So our response to Gandalf’s advice of using the time that is given to us, is to wait patiently, reflectively and exaltingly on the Lord; and when we do, others will take note and put their faith in him.
Henry Craig
