How long? Ever asked this? Or heard it?
"How long 'til we get there, Mom?"
"How long 'til Christmas?"
"How long until school is out?"
We want to know when things will happen. Waiting seems interminable, especially when the outcome is uncertain. It makes us worry because we can think of an infinite number of scenarios depicting glorious and inglorious ends to the problem. We are impatient with a waitress who gets our food out a bit too late or a driver ahead of us who is just too slow. The urge to kick our computer when it slows or to change lines in the bank because the lady in front of us is asking too many questions is evidence that we have forgotten patience. My son is half way around the world this morning after 25 hours of flights and airports. That is a long, tiring trip (he went business class, so don't feel sorry for him)....but think how long that used to take, before planes. How impossible it would have been so long ago. There must be something at the other end of our waiting worth the test of our patience. If there does not seem to be a point, we despair, lose hope and are tempted to jump ship.
Hear David's lament in this psalm:
How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide from me?
How long must I worry and feel sad in my heart all day?
How long will my enemy win over me?
Of course, David knows in his heart that God has not forgotten, but honestly, sometimes it feels like God misplaced us and can't remember where He put us. The despair that has seeped into our hearts after months of battling against the whispers that God does not care has wrapped its claws around our hope, choking it until it has all but died. Our question then? Will this go on forever? We cannot see how it will be any different tomorrow than it is today. What is there to look forward to but more of the same? Our predicament.
Or maybe God is playing hide and seek. Perhaps He wants us to go find Him in His hiding place. A cosmic game that plays out badly for us. He knows all the places to conceal Himself. We are limited to the realm of our mere existence. And.....why would He hide? Did He make us then leave us here to fend for ourselves?
It just gets plain wearying to worry all day long....and all night. "What if's" can drive us crazy! Pervasive sadness at the idea of being abandoned and having to work our fate out by ourselves is almost stultifying. Afraid to do anything lest it be the wrong thing. Afraid not to do anything because we just can't stay in this mess forever and need to do something.
Then there is the enemy. Sickness. Loss of job. Crushed relationships. Addiction. Abandonment. Rumors. Or a physical enemy coming at you with a vengeance. How long until you are free? A close friend of mine, dying of cancer, told me, in her last conversation with me, that she did not think it would take so long to die. Frustrated with the enemy overpowering her body, she was ready for the fight to be over. How long, Lord? How long?
There must be something on the other side of our longings worth fighting against despair for. We must have a vision of an outcome worth the wait. What do we trust in when we feel abandoned by our God? When we cannot seem to grasp His plan for our apparent defeat?
Answer: Verse 5: I trust in Your love.
Seem too easy? Seem pat? It might just be the hardest thing you have ever done. More to come.
"How long 'til we get there, Mom?"
"How long 'til Christmas?"
"How long until school is out?"
We want to know when things will happen. Waiting seems interminable, especially when the outcome is uncertain. It makes us worry because we can think of an infinite number of scenarios depicting glorious and inglorious ends to the problem. We are impatient with a waitress who gets our food out a bit too late or a driver ahead of us who is just too slow. The urge to kick our computer when it slows or to change lines in the bank because the lady in front of us is asking too many questions is evidence that we have forgotten patience. My son is half way around the world this morning after 25 hours of flights and airports. That is a long, tiring trip (he went business class, so don't feel sorry for him)....but think how long that used to take, before planes. How impossible it would have been so long ago. There must be something at the other end of our waiting worth the test of our patience. If there does not seem to be a point, we despair, lose hope and are tempted to jump ship.
Hear David's lament in this psalm:
How long will you forget me, O Lord? Forever?
How long will you hide from me?
How long must I worry and feel sad in my heart all day?
How long will my enemy win over me?
Of course, David knows in his heart that God has not forgotten, but honestly, sometimes it feels like God misplaced us and can't remember where He put us. The despair that has seeped into our hearts after months of battling against the whispers that God does not care has wrapped its claws around our hope, choking it until it has all but died. Our question then? Will this go on forever? We cannot see how it will be any different tomorrow than it is today. What is there to look forward to but more of the same? Our predicament.
Or maybe God is playing hide and seek. Perhaps He wants us to go find Him in His hiding place. A cosmic game that plays out badly for us. He knows all the places to conceal Himself. We are limited to the realm of our mere existence. And.....why would He hide? Did He make us then leave us here to fend for ourselves?
It just gets plain wearying to worry all day long....and all night. "What if's" can drive us crazy! Pervasive sadness at the idea of being abandoned and having to work our fate out by ourselves is almost stultifying. Afraid to do anything lest it be the wrong thing. Afraid not to do anything because we just can't stay in this mess forever and need to do something.
Then there is the enemy. Sickness. Loss of job. Crushed relationships. Addiction. Abandonment. Rumors. Or a physical enemy coming at you with a vengeance. How long until you are free? A close friend of mine, dying of cancer, told me, in her last conversation with me, that she did not think it would take so long to die. Frustrated with the enemy overpowering her body, she was ready for the fight to be over. How long, Lord? How long?
There must be something on the other side of our longings worth fighting against despair for. We must have a vision of an outcome worth the wait. What do we trust in when we feel abandoned by our God? When we cannot seem to grasp His plan for our apparent defeat?
Answer: Verse 5: I trust in Your love.
Seem too easy? Seem pat? It might just be the hardest thing you have ever done. More to come.
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