Manna for Today: Psalm 27

Psalm 27:1-14

Key Verses: 27:13-14

“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” ESV

There is a juxtaposition here. It says we will see God’s goodness in the land of the living. That means in the here and now. We can go forward knowing that we will not have to wait until we are dead to see God’s good work in this world, but that does not mean God will work right now. Or even when we would like God to work, and how we would like God to work.

Waiting is hard. We are not good at waiting. Right now, we can get almost anything, almost instantly. Amazon has an overnight delivery option, and you can get a microwave pancake in less than 20 seconds. We have been asked to wait for a lot of things right now. We have to wait to go to our favorite restaurant; wait to get to go visit our friends, and relatives; wait to get our hairs cut. Some of us are still waiting to return to our offices. Many of us continue to wait to return to our sanctuaries and buildings.

Here the psalmist tells us we must also wait on the Lord. Wait, hope, trust in the Lord. Wait knowing the Lord is at work even when we are unable to see it. Hope knowing God is the source of all redemption. Trust knowing God can work all things, even these things, together for good. God is at work, and we are called to trust, hope and wait, so we can see what God is doing. When we see where God is at work, we can join the work of the Lord, instead of running out ahead, thinking we know the way, believing we know where God is going. We can’t get there ahead of God. We cannot lead. We can only wait and then once we see the way in which God is moving, we can follow.

 

Thing to Think on

What does the goodness of God look like?

When we see God at work, does God always work in the ways we would expect?

Do you find hope in knowing you will see God’s goodness here in this life?

What does waiting for God look like for you today?

Are you trying to run ahead, expecting God to catch up to you?

What would it mean for you to change what you are doing so that you are catching up to God?

 

 

A Prayer for Today

Lord God, I hate waiting. Waiting is hard. Why can’t you work in then ways I want you to work, when I want you to work? I want things fixed now. I want things to be set right. You want things set right too. When your timing is not my timing, I find that hard. I get impatient. Help me to not run ahead. Help me to be patient. Help me to look for you; to see where it is you are going and follow along behind, patiently, trusting you will bring redemption to all things, even everything that is going on right now. I find hope in knowing you are working, that you are at work. Help me also to trust and to wait. - Amen