Waiting With God's Word

“I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope.” (Psalm 130:5, ESV)

Waiting In Hope

On Wednesday, I wrote a post talking about Waiting in Hope. As I was reading through the Psalms, it struck me that the Psalmist had more to say on this topic. The Psalmist is still waiting and is still waiting in hope. Yet, another dimension is added to this hopeful waiting. The Psalmist has found hope in God’s Word and THAT helps him to wait on the Lord. 

Turning To God’s Word While We Wait

Where do you turn while you're waiting? When you become anxious and frustrated over a situation, wondering how it will turn out, and what will happen, where do you turn? 

The Spirit pressed that question on my heart several years ago. I began to notice that I often turned to myself in the midst of anxiety and fear. As I turned in on myself, I spiraled further and further into anxiety and fear. My mind would continue to run down every rabbit trail of possible negative outcomes, and things would progress from bad to worse. 

Then as I pondered the question, “Where do you turn while waiting?,” I realized that I should really turn to God’s Word. That’s the place where I can find hope and guidance.

So, I began a new practice. Whenever I recognized that I was fretting about something, impatiently waiting, or allowing anxiety to get the best of me, I would stop what I was doing and open my Bible to the Psalms. Then, I would start reading and praying my way through the Psalms. As I read and prayed, I would increasingly feel the anxiety and fear fall away.

Why? Because I was turning away from myself and turning to God.

Hope In The Lord

That’s truly where we find hope. That’s why the Psalmist continues by saying, “O Israel, hope in the LORD! For with the LORD there is steadfast love, and with him is plentiful redemption.” (Psalm 130:7, ESV). As we read God’s Word, we are reminded of who God is and what He has done. We are reminded of the way he loves his people and of his steadfast love. We are reminded of his plentiful redemption. As we are reminded of these things, hope grows within us, and we find ourselves more equipped to wait. We find ourselves waiting in hope of the Lord. 

Advent & God’s Word

Regularly reading God’s Word is a struggle for many people. Yet Advent is a great season to begin this discipline. Don’t wait until January 1 to make this a resolution. Start it now—today. 

Advent is the season where we celebrate the Word taking on flesh and dwelling among us. As we celebrate the child born in the manger and gaze upon his beautiful face, we see the perfect incarnation of God’s Word. As we wait for the celebration of the Word made flesh, it only makes sense that we would read God’s Word in preparation—seeing Jesus on every page, finding hope and strength as we wait.