Real Hope: Patience in the WaitingSample

Pause...

Perhaps you’re not good at waiting? At Christmas, for birthdays, for exciting news, to get going—you’re an action person! So the idea of waiting quietly for something seems a bit unusual.

Lamentations, a small, five-chapter book, contains reflections on the Lord and lessons learned from Him. These verses tell us that:

- God is good to those who hope in Him.

- God is good to the one who seeks Him.

- It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.

God is good. It is His nature, His being, His essence. Those who hope in Him and those who seek Him see that and know that. Psalm 34:8 says, "Taste and see that the Lord is good; blessed is the one who takes refuge in Him." Because He is good and can be found, it means that we can rely on Him for hope.

The writer tells us that it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord. But waiting quietly is hard with a busy life, with all its pressures and priorities.

Waiting gives time to pause, think, reflect, consider, and wonder. If we love God and wait for Him, then our priorities and thoughts should reflect His priorities and thoughts and point us to Him and what He wants us to do and be. 

These are the important things of life—the things of eternity. Hope in the Lord, seek Him, and quietly wait for Him. 

He will be there. It is good to be patient.

Written by DAVID BARKER