It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.

Devotion based on Lamentations 3:26

Waiting is hard. In a world in which everything moves faster and faster, we expect everything to come to us quickly. It is hard to wait. What if you know what you are waiting for is worth the wait? Does that make it easier? That wedding date you’ve had circled on your calendar for over a year. That vacation you’ve planned and saved up for. That visit from loved ones you haven’t seen for a long time.

Israel’s history was a history of waiting. When Adam and Eve sinned, God promised to send his Son to crush the devil’s head. But he wouldn’t come in their lifetime. They had to wait. From Abraham to David to Jeremiah and beyond, for centuries, the people waited and waited.

We live in a time of waiting, too. Waiting for Jesus to come back and be delivered from our sorrows and suffering once and for all. When will that day come? We don’t know. Since the day Jesus ascended into heaven, God’s people have been waiting and praying, “Deliver us from evil.”

But that waiting is hard.

You know how hard it is if your health is failing, your body is weakening, and you simply want to see your Savior. “Lord, deliver me.”

You know how hard it is if you’ve had to spend another night in a hospital bed or another day struggling to make ends meet. “Lord, deliver me.”

You know how hard it is if you’ve been mocked or bullied for confessing Christ at school or work. “Lord, deliver me.”

While we wait for the Lord’s deliverance, we are tempted to grow impatient, discouraged, frustrated, and even angry with him.

But the Bible says, “It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.” We can come before God in humility, saying, “Lord, I don’t have the answers to life’s problems. You do. I don’t need to be in control because you are. I don’t have to worry because you love me. Lord, forgive my fears and frustration, my impatience and anger. I wait in hope for you. Because you love me and are coming to deliver me, I know you are worth waiting for.”

Prayer: