One of my favorite childhood books was Ramona the Pest. On Ramona’s first day of school, her smiling teacher welcomes her to the classroom, ushers her to her desk, and tells her, “Sit here for the present.” And so Ramona sits all day, waiting for the gift she expects to receive as a reward her for her obedience. She’s devastated and humiliated to discover at the end of the day that “present” means “for now.” That’s a disappointing first day of school!
Do you ever feel like Ramona? Maybe you’re clinging to a promise of God, waiting for the present, but you feel like you’ve been left hanging for so long. You’re starting to wonder if your wait will end in disappointment.
As Arthur Pink says in his book The Attributes of God: “It is one thing to accept the faithfulness of God as a Divine truth, it is quite another to act upon it” (p. 68, emphasis original). Waiting may seem passive, but waiting with expectation is one way we can act on our belief in God’s faithfulness. Waiting with joy, peace, and contentment shows our dependence on God when we haven’t yet seen His promises fulfilled in our circumstances.
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.” (Psalm 62:5)
When you wait for the Lord and place your hope in Him, He will be your steady rock. He will be your fortress – your safe refuge. And He will be your salvation and your Redeemer.
Ramona didn’t just accept her teacher’s statement that a present was coming – she acted on it. While her action ended in disappointment, ours most definitely will not.
No matter what you face this week, you can trust God’s faithfulness while you wait.
Share
[…] A few months ago, we looked at this verse and how it teaches us to wait on the Lord. This verse also promises us that as we wait on Him, we will receive a hope that cannot be shaken. The hope that He gives can’t be washed away by a new development in the pandemic or a positive COVID-19 test. […]