A reflection worth pondering as we live our lives of faith in emotionally and physically demanding times.
Les+
Waiting in Expectation
Br. Curtis Almquist
Psalm 130
One word appears in the psalm appointed for today – Psalm 130 – and this word is repeated again and again, a counter-cultural word. The word is “wait.” Wait. Some of us may get antsy or angry when we have to wait; however, whether we are fifteen, or fifty, or whatever age, we have to wait all the time. We never outgrow waiting, and oftentimes waiting is not easy. Like when we are waiting for an appointment, or waiting for a grade, or waiting for our turn, or waiting for a diagnosis, or waiting for a person to arrive… or to leave, we are waiting all the time. Of course, sometimes we should not wait. When there’s an urgent need, we cannot wait. We must act now! But otherwise in life we must wait on so much and wait on so many.
Two things help with waiting. For one, it’s the way God has created life. Life requires times of gestation; life takes time to grow. Some of our waiting is about our being ready or being readied. So we must wait. The clue to remember is that now is more important than next. Don’t try to cut in line in life. There is a reason why today is not tomorrow. Be present, which is where God is: in the present. God’s real presence is in the present. In the fullness of time, we will be prepared for what is next. So God is also waiting, waiting on us until we are ready or readied.
Secondly, sometimes we may feel we are waiting in the dark. We have no sense or no control over what will happen. We are in the dark; however, God is not in the dark. We read in the psalms how, to God, “the day and night are both alike” (Psalm 139:12). God is not in the dark. When we are in the dark, we are being kept in the dark, what the psalmist calls “hidden under the shadow of God’s wings.”[1] The darkness, for us, is a kindness.
“Waiting” is a very promising word to add to your vocabulary. Waiting. Waiting fits so many occasions in life, and most every day. A very helpful and hopeful word for navigating life: “waiting.” What are you doing? You say, “I am waiting.”
[1] Psalm 17:8; 36:7; 57:1; 61:4; 91:4.
https://media.blubrry.com/ssje_sermon/www.ssje.org/4.audio/2025/101625_cga.mp3
