Wait for the Lord. Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord.
Why did the psalmist choose to repeat a phrase twice within such a short verse? Perhaps because he wanted us to pay attention to it! So often, we who work in missions – especially in the world’s toughest places – feel impatient as we wait for a seed to take root and grow. But this verse calls us to a choice.
“Wait” does not always mean “do nothing.” It’s not a passive word; it demands action, and it is a conscious choice. While you wait on one course of action, there may be other, smaller steps you can take to prepare yourself for the answer you seek.
The Hebrew word for “wait” is qavah: to look for, hope, expect. The idea of waiting is inextricably linked to the idea of hope. Hope is not a wish, it is an expectation. It is based on the knowledge that God will be faithful in the future because He has been in the past. We lose hope if we forget that good things are to come.
We stop looking in expectation for the prize, and instead focus on the surrounding difficulties. In other words, we lose sight of Jesus on the water, and start looking around us at the waves.
If you’d like to read more about the truth packed into the rest of this passage, check out the entire article under Notes on our fan page: www.facebook.com/MedicalMissionsResponse.