Wait, Israel, for God. Wait with hope. Hope now; hope always! Psalm 131:3 (MSG)
Waiting is a character-producing activity. Even calling the task of waiting an activity seems oxymoronic. Waiting feels like doing nothing. Waiting feels like wasted time.
Still, I'm reminded by the lyrics of today's chapter that my waiting is not void of direction, purpose or activity. I'm to learn contentment as I cool it. I'm to hope while I'm on hold.
[sigh] Man, waiting is hard work.
Thanks for the agricultural lesson, Kev. As a city boy, there’s a lot I need to learn in that regard!
I recall one time that Pastor Kevin was speaking of a particular passage (maybe Psalm 27:14, but maybe a different scripture) … anyway in the passage he was teaching out of, he said the word “wait” in that particular sentence was from a word that actually meant “hope” or “wait with hope” … that has always stuck with and encouraged me. While it is strange to think so, I suppose that does bring an action to waiting. Weird.
2 I’ve kept my feet on the ground,
I’ve cultivated a quiet heart.
I’m a farm kid. The word cultivate means a lot of things to me. It makes me think of cultivating corn and beans. It removes weeds that are detrimental to yield and it loosens the soil. We cultivate the field before we plant. This also removes weeds and creates a perfect seed bed. Cultivating the heart must be similar. Remove the non-productive “weeds” and create a seedbed where God can grow His Word.