Psalm 119:74 – Wait
Those who fear you see me and rejoice,
Because I wait for your word.
Again, there are a number of ways to translate, especially the verb tenses. In a poetic form, that is challenging. I see this as a continuous state rather than a prediction. Those who see the psalmist rejoice, precisely because he is awaiting God’s word.
We could discuss the value of recognizing God’s work in the lives of others. That is one of the things that helps create community. We recognize God’s grace in action and it’s time to rejoice.
But the word that caught most of my attention today is the word “wait.” It can be translated “hope” as well as “wait.” We don’t like the word “wait” and even “hope” can be a problem when we remember that if we’re hoping, we don’t have it yet! And we’re back to “wait,” which we don’t like.
But waiting is critical. Timing can be important and if you don’t learn to wait, you are likely to miss many things. You can miss something as easily by rushing and being too early as by being too late.
And what is the psalmist waiting for? God’s word.
With waiting there is listening, listening for God’s word. This can come to you in so many different ways. I recall once that I had been trying to make a decision. The situation was one were right and wrong seemed ambiguous. I was talking with a friend asking for prayer and advice, and as we were praying and talking about it, suddenly something became very clear.
Did I hear a voice? No.
Were there words written on tablets of stone? No.
Did I have a vision? No.
I believe God can speak in all of those ways. God has spoken in all those ways. But the “word of God” that I received after waiting that time was simply the sudden understanding of what was the right thing to do. In a flash I knew that one of the courses of action I was considering could not be carried out ethically, so there was really only one choice.
Can you wait for that knowledge of what God’s word says about any situation?
Here are some helpful books I publish on this topic
