Waiting On God

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from Him." (Psalm 62:5)

Like me, you are waiting on God for something, aren't you? Expecting something? Feeling like it is taking a long time to happen?

Psalm 62:5 really spoke to me. I looked up the Hebrew word for the word translated as "wait" in this verse. The Hebrew word is damam. Here is the full definition of the word: "literally to be dumb; to stop, to perish, cease or be cut down. To hold peace, quiet self, rest, be silent, keep silence, be still."

The fullness of this definition truly broadens the meaning of the word "wait" in this Scripture. It does not mean just hanging out and hoping God will answer us pretty soon. It is not passive. We have a part in this kind of waiting - and our part is not twiddling our thumbs or tapping our fingers impatiently! Our part is to "keep silent. To keep our peace. To be cut down."

That doesn't sound like much fun - and it's not! This kind of waiting is the kind that requires the sacrificing of our own desires, the cutting down of our flesh. It requires that we not be talking all the time, but rather listening. It requires that we keep our shalom, even when we are beginning to feel impatient or frustrated. It is a total trusting of the One who longs to give us the desires of our hearts - but will not until He has worked out every detail according to His very best plan for our lives, until we are so dead-to-self that He can be sure we will give only HIM the glory!

Damam. Help me to wait on You, O God, with this damam, this silent, still, peaceful, yielded waiting...

I sense it will be worth the wait! The Lord is bringing forth people who have completely yielded to Him, gone through the fire of self-death, and learned to wait upon Him. This kind of waiting brings forth that which is beautiful, lasting, and worth having.