Sermon Title: What To Do When You Have To Wait
Truly my soul finds rest in God; my salvation comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will never be shaken. How long will you assault me? Would all of you throw me down— this leaning wall, this tottering fence? Surely they intend to topple me from my lofty place; they take delight in lies.
With their mouths they bless, but in their hearts they curse. Yes, my soul, find rest in God; my hope comes from him. Truly he is my rock and my salvation; he is my fortress, I will not be shaken. My salvation and my honor depend on God; he is my mighty rock, my refuge. Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge. Surely the lowborn are but a breath, the highborn are but a lie. If weighed on a balance, they are nothing; together they are only a breath. Do not trust in extortion or put vain hope in stolen goods; though your riches increase, do not set your heart on them. One thing God has spoken, two things I have heard: “Power belongs to you, God, and with you, Lord, is unfailing love”; and, “You reward everyone according to what they have done.”
It's hard to wait. In this country, in our present era, we are taught not to wait - we have instant everything. We expect to have things done quickly so that we can hurry to the next place. We have no time for patience. So when circumstances happen that causes us to wait, we fret, complain, grip and sometimes curse. Why do we have to wait?
The writer of this Psalm, King David, had to wait for God's deliverance. Dr. J. Vernon McGee reminds us that David was probably encouraged to take matters into his own hands and fight for his deliverance, but the better route was to wait on God and retreat:
"No doubt there were those around David—fanatics of those days—who urged that he stand his ground and thereby exhibit his faith, for he was God’s anointed and God should overrule this whole matter. Not David! He said that his life was in God’s hands, and it seemed best that he leave. David lived above the hue and cry of little men. He did not listen to pious shibboleths, for while little men cried for a miracle David avowed to walk in the dark, trusting God. O for a faith like that! A God-given faith! What others called defeat, to David was but a test of faith. David can retreat from Jerusalem and it is still going to sound like a victory. He only is my rock and my salvation; he is my defence; I shall not be greatly moved [Ps. 62:2]."
God does His best works when we have to wait on Him and declare, like King David, "I shall not be greatly moved." So how should we wait? We should wait by remembering that worry does us no good, replacing worry thoughts with God thoughts and with confidence and expectation. We will talk more about each of these aspects of waiting on Sunday as we continue our sermon series, "God is Closer Than You Think." Hope to see you then!
