Psalm 69:1-3 – Save me, O God! For the waters have come up to my neck. I sink in deep mire, where there is no foothold; I have come into deep waters, and the flood sweeps over me. I am weary with my crying out; my throat is parched. My eyes grow dim with waiting for my God.

THEME OF THE DAY. THE PAIN IN WAITING ON GOD. Impatience. No one lacks this “fruit” of our sinful nature. Oh, some people are far more patient than others. And as we grow older, hopefully wiser, patience develops. However, the tendency toward becoming impatient over even little things remains within. It could be little things like a stop light feeling like it is stuck on red for eternity. It might be a long check-out line in a grocery store. Or maybe just a family member taking a little too much time getting ready for an event or outing we are already late for. But there is also a time we may show impatience that isn’t a little thing. It is when God seems to be extremely slow or not interested in answering our prayers. Like David in today’s scripture.

The man after God’s own heart is not just expressing a little impatience with what is unfolding in his life. He pictures himself as a drowning man. The floodwaters of oppression from his enemies and trying circumstances are up to his neck and he is sinking in the mud produced by both. David is suffering and God seems nowhere to be found. He cries out of his suffering with words revealing his physical exhaustion as well as a heart pain that is challenging his faith. And he puts the blame on his emotional, physical, and spiritual pain on the long delay in God acting on his behalf. The Puritan pastor, Richard Sibbes, wrote “Suffering brings discouragement because of our impatience. ‘Alas’, we lament, ‘I shall never get through such a trial.’ But if God brings us into the trial, He will be with us in the trial, and at length bring us out, more refined.” This was a lesson David had to learn. It is also a lesson we must learn. And in order for us to get it, God enrolls us in His school of waiting to purge our impatience, and produce a patient submission to His always good and sovereign will. Does it hurt? Absolutely. There is a lot of pain in waiting upon God to act. The trials He sends us to build patient submission won’t be easy ones. He will send “big ones” because of the stronghold the sin of impatience has upon us. His love ensures a thorough work of purging our impatience. And it will be through white-hot trials exposing us to our weakness, our frailty, and our inability to do life, and especially endure trials, in the spirit of glad and patient submission to Him that He desires.

But in the work of God dealing with our impatience, there is another lesson to be learned beside the development of submissive patience. It comes later in this same Psalm and found in verses 13 and 16. Here they are . . . “But as for me, my prayer is to you, O Lord. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness. Answer me, O Lord, for your steadfast love is good; according to your abundant mercy, turn to me.” Notice where David is leaning on for help as he waits upon his God. It is the character of God and particularly, His qualities of steadfast love, faithfulness and mercy. Friends, the chief goal God wants in our lives is to trust His Person, not His ways of dealing with us. God’s ways are mysterious. And we often are called to wait upon Him, even when we don’t know what He is doing. That is what David is doing in the school of waiting. He is relying on God’s character. And so must we if we are going to develop patience and faith in God’s Person when enrolled in God’s school of waiting.

PRAYER: “Father, please forgive me for the impatience I too often display when You seem to not hear my prayers.”

QUOTE: “Waiting on God is painful but it will produce a spiritual work in us that could not occur without the waiting”