The Bridge of Waiting
Psalm 13
Waiting on God is the most difficult bridge of faith to cross.
In this lament psalm, David cries to the Lord for Him to consider and answer his prayer (3). The problem? An enemy exalts himself over David (2), rejoicing that he is shaken, stumbling, falling down (4). While this short psalm fails to describe the exact nature of the enemy’s exaltation, it impacts David in several significant ways. David has sorrow in his heart all the day (2). He wrestles with his thoughts (2). He feels that God hides His face from him and has forgotten him (1).
In this shotgun psalm, David makes His request known: light up my eyes lest I sleep the sleep of death (3). Or, in the words David uses in other prayers, rescue me, deliver me, help me.
Even though this psalm lacks the depth of other lament psalms due to its brevity, we still feel the crisis. Whether these foes are violent and wicked men who mock his faith and scheme to destroy him as described in detail in other lament psalms, their impact on David’s faith is palpable.
The crisis of faith that drives this prayer is so familiar and common to all of us. Whatever the situation of pain might be, whether violent and wicked mobs or illness or betrayal by a friend, waiting on God to act is the most difficult bridge of faith we ever cross.
How long? David repeats this question four times in six short verses. How long will You forget me? How long will You hide Your face from me? How long must I struggle with my thoughts? How long must I have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy be exalted over me? How long? When are You going to show up? When are You going to act?
Waiting on God is the most difficult bridge of faith we are called to cross.
I read a transformational book in college entitled Waiting on God. I couldn’t remember the author, so I went to Amazon to look it up. There are dozens of books with this title, in fact so many that I never found the book cover that I remember. This is not an isolated faith crisis! Almost everyone who has ever written about faith has also written a book on waiting on God.
The one thing I do remember, albeit not the author, was the thesis of the book. Here it is: “Who you become while you wait is more important than what you are waiting for.”
I read this book as a college student who was waiting on everything: a mate, a career, graduation, a functional car, everything. And this book transformed my waiting. Focus on who you are becoming more than what you are waiting for.
Waiting on God is a difficult bridge to cross.
Admittedly, David’s waiting bridge was much harder to cross than mine. I was struggling with loneliness and career confusion while he was struggling with enemies who plotted to take his life, but the prayer guide leads me just the same.
First, David honestly made his request known the Lord. He didn’t try to spiritualize the prayer, didn’t hide behind religious language, didn’t sanitize to keep from offending God. He laid it all out there. Where are You? Have You forgotten me? Can You not see the pain I am going through or do You just not care?
When waiting on God, there is no room for sanitized prayers. Let it rip.
Second, David was honest about the crisis of faith. Circumstances and pain and tribulations force us to ask difficult questions. Either God is not loving or God is not all powerful or God is not all knowing. If He does love me, then He would help me. If He were all knowing, then He would know how to help me. If He is all powerful, then He would help me now. But waiting forces us to actively put our faith in a loving, wise, and all-knowing God even when we don’t understand how all those dots line up. However, and this is the key, we must be honest about the faith crisis, or we will never cross the waiting bridge.
When waiting on God, you can’t go around it, you must cross the bridge.
Third, David guarded his difficult prayer with thanksgiving. God has dealt bountifully with me. In the past, I have trusted in Your steadfast love, and You delivered me. David didn’t use the word, but he practiced the spiritual discipline of thanksgiving while waiting on God. Why be thankful? Because in the moment, when God feels distant, we forget the evidences of His steadfast love, His saving work, His manifold graces of deliverance. The reason we can trust in His steadfast love in the future is because we have evidence of His steadfast love in our past. As the apostle Paul wrote, we must be watchful in prayer with thanksgiving (see Colossians 4.2).
When waiting on God, the first step across the bridge is thanksgiving.
Fourth, David reminded Himself of the beauty and greatness of God. The crisis of faith draws our eyes to see the greatness of our enemies, but the prayer of faith requires our focus to be upon the Creator of all things, the Sustainer of all things, the One who was and is and is to come, the One who is above all powers and authorities. Who is this God we are waiting upon? Is He worthy of our waiting?
Is God worthy of our waiting?
Finally, David hoped in the Lord. We use the word “hope” to mean “wishful thinking,” I hope I get a raise this year. I hope my team wins the Super Bowl. I hope I don’t get the flu this year. Wishful thinking. But biblical hope is different. Biblical hope is “confident expectation.” Faith is the expectation of what is hoped for. David waits on the Lord with this hope. I will sing to the Lord. My heart shall rejoice in Your salvation. David knew that he was waiting on something that was actually coming. Waiting on something that will never come is not really waiting but a delusion. David was not delusional; he was waiting.
When waiting on God, fix your eyes on the other side.
What are you waiting for? Who are you becoming while you wait? Is your faith getting deeper? Is your knowledge of God growing? Are you learning to trust Him more?
May you be filled with the knowledge of His will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to Him and bearing fruit in every good work.