Psalm 37:1-11
Wait, Wait, Wait...

Do not fret because of evildoers,
         Nor be envious of the workers of iniquity.
For they shall soon be cut down like the grass,
         And wither as the green herb.

Trust in the LORD, and do good;
         Dwell in the land, and feed on His faithfulness.
Delight yourself also in the LORD,
         And He shall give you the desires of your heart.

Commit your way to the LORD,
         Trust also in Him,
         And He shall bring it to pass.
He shall bring forth your righteousness as the light,
         And your justice as the noonday.

Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
         Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
         Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
         Do not fretÑit only causes harm.

For evildoers shall be cut off;
         But those who wait on the LORD,
         They shall inherit the earth.
For yet a little while and the wicked shall be no more;
         Indeed, you will look carefully for his place,
         But it shall be no more.
But the meek shall inherit the earth,
         And shall delight themselves in the abundance of peace.

New King James Version

I've fought this one for too long. If I don't write this meditation, God is going to place a large fish in my front yard to swallow me up until I finally give in. Now I don't understand how a large fish would travel this far inland and survive on the lawn, but God is persistent and powerful and I'm not taking any chances!

It seems that recently when I page through the Bible, the same ugly four-letter word jumps out at me: WAIT. The great stories of the Old Testament have people of faith waiting until God tells them to proceed--but the foolish people rushed to act on their own initiative. Instructions to the faithful call on us to "wait on the Lord", and it cannot be correctly translated any other way than to surrender our initiative and accept God's Will in God's time. At least I can take comfort that there must be many people like me if this message is repeated so often.

But I like my way better: I find a problem, I devise a solution, and I fix it. Done, over with, ancient history, so I can move on with my life. I love the challenge of researching a problem, even when that challenge threatens my livelihood or my well-being. I get great pleasure in applying my intellect and creativity to see what I can accomplish. I get tired of the same old problems, so I want to conquer and bury them, even if all that means is I trade old problems for new problems. Me, me, me.

King David must have known people like me. He called for my type to put a halt to the urgency we feel to deal with the problems around us. The first verse calls us to stop fretting about what we see that isn't right, not because we are willing to accept the wrong, but because we are willing to trust God with it. Not only that, but we are to keep trusting and keep trusting for however long God chooses for us to wait.

If I think about who has the greater authority at my job, the command to wait makes sense. I can be a good manager that identifies issues and opportunities, but my priorities are set by my manager. She is the one that decides which issue or opportunity gets funding first, so the work gets done in her time, not my own. When I decide that I will wait for a limited amount of time for God to act before I strike out on my own, I am pretending to be a faithful servant of God, when instead I am trying to manage and direct God's Will instead.

To be obedient, I must wait. I have to wait until the frustration builds and builds and I grow a stronger trust in God to withstand the frustration without giving in to it. I have to wait until the anger in me is gradually replaced by God's Love and I see those that oppose my efforts as my brothers and sisters in God's family. I have to wait until I am willing to reach out in peace instead of strike back in retaliation. I have to wait until I no longer fixate on the imperfections around me, but choose to see instead the seeds of perfection God has liberally sprinkled all around us.

I have to wait until I am ready to release my grip on anything I still call "mine"--my money, my career, my family, my time, my life.

One day, a long time from now, when I am finally beginning to learn the grace of waiting, I suspect I will find that mature waiting brings immeasurable Joy, for waiting will allow God to work miracles in me and through me that God has so far been unwilling to do because I keep interfering.